


Property Of Dave Strider

by JackLuk



Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, Anal Sex, Angst, Fluff, Legal sexual slavery, M/M, Masterbation, Nipple Play, Original Sexual Slavery AU, Questionable Consent, Sadstuck, Sex Slave, Sexual Slavery, Sexuality Confusion, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-09 08:58:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 55,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4342250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackLuk/pseuds/JackLuk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sexual slavery is legal, organized, and accepted in the United States. Young adults who have committed a crime may be sold into slavery. However, although rare, it is legal for a parent to sell their adult offspring into slavery. Innocent, optimistic John Egbert is sold into slavery. Will the poor boy make it in the care of a seemingly emotionless blonde?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

John Egbert had never felt so betrayed. It had been his eighteenth birthday. He was excited to eat cake, get presents, and play games. He only had a little over a month of High school left, and then he would have summer break, and after that, he would start studying to be a Biologist like he had always dreamed of. It was a nice day outside. The sun was shining through puffy, light clouds in the never-ending blue sky. A small amount of wind blew off the small wisps of seeds on dandelions and allowed them to soar free over the moist, green grass and disappear into the world of nature. It was truly a beautiful day, and John woke up just nine hours past the start of it. He yawned and stretched as he sat up and looked out his window. 

The Egbert family had been struggling with finances lately, and John was spending his entire High school career doing different jobs and fundraisers to raise money to go to college. It was a lot of work, but John was passionate and persistent. The only downside to all his work was that he didn't have any friends. He was the nicest guy around, and everyone that vaguely knew him was kind to him, but he never grew close to anyone. He just had to go to school. He took the day off of work for his birthday. He didn't expect a present from his father due to the lack of money in their household, but he did hope his dad would at least bake him a cake like he used to all the time when John was younger. Of course, those days were long before his dad's drug addiction. 

It had started when John's grandmother died when he was six. His grandmother was everything to his father, and his father couldn't cope with her death at all. It had started when he traded his pipe for a blunt full of marijuana, and the drugs he used only worsened. His father was not abusive by any means, and John felt that he had a good childhood. They were just poor from his father spending every cent on drugs. 

John stood up and walked to the window. He looked outside with a smile on his face. He lived in a small, nice neighborhood. It was a mellow Sunday, and his next-door neighbor was sitting outside on the porch reading the newspaper. John walked downstairs to the kitchen. His dad was not in sight. He tiredly walked over to the newspaper on the dining table. The headline read, 'Washington Slavery Law Goes To Supreme Court'. John sighed and picked up the newspaper. 

He didn't support slavery at all. He wished it all would have ended like African American slavery did back in the 1800s, but in the 1950s, sexual slavery became legalized in Texas. The laws were very specific and rigid. If someone between the age of eighteen and twenty-seven were to commit a crime and be sentenced for more than two years in prison but less than thirty, they could be bought by a company that sells slaves. It all depended on whether or not the company wanted the person. There was a funny saying that went around, 'If you're going to commit a crime, make sure you're ugly.' There was only one other way to become a sex slave. A parent was allowed to sell their offspring into slavery. This law only applied to people who were either eighteen or nineteen, and there were many exceptions to this law.

Luckily, sexual slavery was illegal in Washington, where John lived. It was only legal in thirty-eight states, but it was quickly spreading. The only law in Washington that had to do with sexual slavery was the law about parents being able to sell their offspring, but companies would have to transport the slaves back to the areas where it was legal. Slavery was very well organized, and slaves were treated like pets. Torturing a slave was completely illegal, but they were still seen as properly by law. 

All in all, John hated the idea of slavery. He had written a couple different research papers about it before in school and was firm in his opinion. John set down the article. There was no way Washington would legalize slavery any time soon, not with all the conservatives in office. John sighed and turned on the television. He watched one of the only stations on Antenna T.V. that wasn't completely meant for old people. It was a movie channel, and a movie with Nick Cage in it was playing. John happily zoned into the movie for the next couple hours. The movie had almost finished playing when John's dad stumbled inside along with several other people. He was jittery and played with his thumbs as he walked up to John. 

"Happy Birthday, John," he said sincerely. John smiled and glanced at him for a second. 

"Thanks, Dad," John said happily. He looked back at the television contently. 

"Son, I am so proud of you. Could you please come to the kitchen? I have a surprise for you." John grinned wildly and turned off the television. He followed his father to the kitchen. Four unfamiliar women and men stood in the kitchen. Two of them were wearing professional suits while the other two wore baggy, black uniforms. John looked at the people with confusion. "John, you have been the best son a father could ask for, and I know that you'll understand why this has to happen." John was confused and scared. 

"Dad, who are these people?" John asked quietly. One of the women dressed professionally nodded. 

"He will do, Mr. Egbert. We will pay you once he is in our custody," she said. John's father nodded. The woman nodded at the two men in baggy uniforms. They nodded back and then walked up to John. John instantly stepped back. 

"Just let them do their work, son," John's dad said softly. John shook his head and kept shakily walking backwards. 

"Dad, what's happening?" John asked in a high voice. 

"Just relax," one of the men said as he gently moved John's hands behind his back and cuffed them together. 

"What did I do wrong?" John asked in an increasingly concerned voice. His dad was too busy talking to the professional business women to respond. The other man gently patted John's shoulder. 

"It's okay. Just relax. We won't hurt you," he said. The man had a masculine face that was easy to the eyes and a voice smooth like honey. John swallowed thickly, slightly soothed by the man's words. "Follow us." The two men started to lead John out of the house. John stopped at the door. 

"I don't want to leave. Today's my day off work," John said insecurely. "Where are you taking me? What's going on?" The taller, less attractive man shook his head. 

"Calm down, John. Just follow us, and everything will be fine," he said. John shook his head. 

"No, I'm not going with you," he said. 

"I really don't want to force you."

"Please don't do this."

"It's already done."

"Did Dad sell me?" John asked in a high, shaky voice. His eyes were wide with terror, and his forehead was already starting to sweat. The man nodded solemnly. This was John's cue to freak out. He desperately sprinted to the back door, but the men easily caught him and picked him up. John screamed and flailed in their arms. "No, please, I didn't do anything wrong!" 

The men tried to calm him down and shushed him as they put him in the back of the truck outside and chained him to one of the seats. The two men sat next to him as he sobbed and tried to break the chains on his feet and hands. The truck started a few minutes later, and the two people in the back let John cry all the way to Texas. John didn't sleep during the trip and refused to eat what the people gave him. He was only released to use the bathroom every few hours with the two men escorting him. 

After a few days, he was led to what looked like a giant pet store. There were large, multicolored, block letters above the store that read, 'T.U.S.S.' The men gently guided him inside through the backdoors. He was led to a room with a metal table in the center. There were straps on it for a person's wrists and ankles to be tied down. John sat down on the table as instructed. A man with a lab coat came in and gave John what seemed to be a regular check-up that he would receive from a doctor. The two men left during this. 

After the check-up, the man instructed John to take all of his clothes off. John immediately protested. The man sighed and called in two women with lab coats on. They looked happy and excited, as if they had been waiting for the man to finish. The three of them pulled John's clothes off as the poor boy thrashed and screamed in a desperate struggle to get away. They strapped him down to the table. The man left the room, irritated. John had never been so embarrassed before, completely nude in front of two women. 

"Hi there, John! We're here to get rid of all that nasty hair on your body. Just hold still, and you shouldn't feel that much pain," one of the women said, tossing her blonde hair to the side. The other dark-haired woman pulled out a roll of tape and a jar of wax. John pulled at his restraints. 

"Please don't do this," he begged. The blonde woman patted his arm. John flinched away from the contact but could barely do so because of the restraints.

"It's alright. This is a very common practice. Lots of men and women get their hair waxed very often. Is this your first time getting waxed professionally?" She asked sweetly. John's eyes shone with a layer of tears. 

"Please. Please, don't." 

"If you aren't purchased right away, we'll be waxing you once a month, every month. This is important because the hair will progressively become finer or just stop growing completely." The dark-haired woman coated John's right leg with a hot wax and then laid a strip of tape down over it. 

"Just relax and breathe," the dark-haired woman said softly in her gentlest voice. John's begging was useless. The woman waited a moment before abruptly ripping off the strip, removing all of the hair from the top of John's leg. John screamed as tears flooded down his cheeks. The blonde woman praised him and rubbed his shoulder, telling him that he was doing such a good job. John struggled on his restraints even more as the woman rubbed more wax onto the side of John's leg. 

"No, no, no, no," John whimpered. The blonde woman tried to shush him to no avail. John was panting once his legs and thighs were finished. He was ashamed to think it was over. He froze when he felt the hot liquid just above his penis and around his hole. He wailed, high and loud as those patches of hair were removed. His arms, armpits, stomach, and chest were waxed as well. More tears slipped down his cheeks in relief as the women put away the waxing supplies. They pulled out a small container and put a hair-removal cream on his face to permanently stop hair from growing. It stung lightly, but it was nothing in comparison to the pain of being waxed.

When the women finished, they unstrapped him from the table and cuffed his hands together in front of him. John's skin was burning red, and his throat ached from screaming. He didn't bother resisting as the women helped him stand and guided him to a large bathtub. They sat him down in the center and turned on the water. John flinched away when one of the women reached for his glasses. She reassured him that she would give them back, and John only then allowed her to take them. They gently bathed John with soap and water, careful not to use any sponges and only their soft, un-callused hands. It still burned on his aching skin. The action probably would have turned him on sexually if not for their previous actions.

When they finally finished, they dried him and dressed him in a plain pair of white boxers that had the name of the store on the waistband. As promised, his glasses were returned. A tall, muscular man picked up John's shaking form bridal style and carried him down a hallway to a long room. It was similar to that of the dog section in a pet store. There were lots of clear cages along the walls. There were two levels of cages, and the cages were inside of the wall. It was only then that John saw them; people. There were men of different sizes and ethnicities in the cages. They were all sleeping on the single pillow in their cage. Some of them had a simple blanket on.

The man carried John to a certain cage on the higher level and opened it. He gently placed John inside the cage. John crawled to the back of the cage and watched as the man placed a clean pillow, a clean blanket, and a water bottle in his cage. He closed the cage door, putting a plastic barrier between himself and John. John could still hear the people in the other room talking. 

"Get some shut eye, John," the man said to him before sliding a small, plastic square and blocking out all sound from both sides of the cage. John hesitated to move as he watched the man walk away. Eventually, he reached out and grabbed his pillow and blanket. There was plenty of room for John to spread out on the floor in the cage but not enough for him to stand. He laid down and tucked himself in before letting exhaustion take over.

John woke up the next day to see light from the other side of the cage. He really was put on display. There was a sticker in the corner of the window that he could not see the other side of. It probably had his name and details on it. John wanted to go home. The window allowed him to see the rest of the store. They sold more than the slaves themselves. There were many isles of different accessories. Clothing and shoes were on the right side of the store from John's viewpoint, and collars and various sex toys were on the other side. The store was very large, and there were already about twenty people in the store just looking at different accessories. 

John begged to himself that no one would buy him. He sat up and covered himself with the blanket. He felt so exposed. Hours passed when finally, his cage opened from behind. The same man from before picked him up, his blanket falling off in the process, and carried him down the hall to a small room with three dining tables in it. He uncuffed John and then instructed him to talk with the lady at the front counter as he lowered him to his feet. John nodded and walked over to the lady. She gave him a tray with what looked like the food he would have had for lunch at his old school. He took it without a word and sat down at a table. 

Two female slaves dressed in white bras and panties came in and took their trays as well. The blonde one looked at John with curiosity. John kept his eyes on his food as he ate slowly. The blonde slave sat down in front of John and smiled. John hesitantly looked up. The black-haired slave sat down at their table. 

"Hey there, cutie," the blonde said. John squeezed knees together and looked back down. "The name's Roxy. This is Jane. What's your name?" John sighed and looked back up.

"I'm John," he said tiredly. Roxy grinned. 

"It's nice to meet you, John. When were you transferred here, or were you just sold?" She asked. 

"I was sold a couple days ago." The girls were surprised. 

"Welcome to T.U.S.S.," Jane said politely, pushing up her red-framed glasses.


	2. T.U.S.S.

"T.U.S.S.?" John asked. He had seen it on his underwear and on the sign but nowhere else. 

"It's the name of the store. 'Trained and Untrained Sex Slaves.'" Roxy explained. John nodded. 

"What about you guys? Are you new here?" John asked. Roxy nodded. 

"I just got transferred here two months ago. Jane's been here for eleven months. Her training's going to start soon." Jane looked down sadly. 

"Training?" John asked. "I thought that was only for misbehaved slaves or whatever." Roxy shook her head. 

"No, here at T.U.S.S., after you're here for one year, you get put into training. It's not like dog training or a disciplinary thing exactly. They-"

"Break you," Jane cut her off. "I've heard the stories from my old lunch mates. It starts simple. They have you do exercises on a drill. It's like a combination of the military and gym class. They make sure you can perfectly follow orders, and then it starts. They shove dildos down your throat and teach you how to deep throat a man of any size. Then they show you how to use your hands and teach you how to role play." Jane's voice progressively became more shrill and high-pitched as she spoke. Roxy noticed this and patted her arm.

"It's okay, Janey. You can stop there. It might not be that bad, y'know," she said softly. Jane shook her head and looked up at Roxy with tears in her eyes. 

"I don't want to break." Roxy hugged Jane loosely. Jane hugged her back and sobbed onto her shoulder. John looked away and finished eating awkwardly. Roxy reached over and wrapped her free arm around John and pulled him closer. John was a little surprised by the action but wrapped his arms around the two. Their hairless, half-naked bodies touched each other in a way that would have been awkward if the three weren't craving human contact. Eventually the same man from before came in and broke up their giant hug.

Jane stopped crying and smiled at him with a small wave as he was picked up and carried away. Roxy called out a farewell as he was exited from the room. John wanted to protest as he was set back into the silent cage, but he knew it was useless. He was bored and tired as he leaned against the wall and stared at the people shopping. He made up funny voices and conversations for the people in his head. In the middle of the day, the man opened his cage again and carried him back to the small room from before. John was already sick of being carried from room to room. It made him feel like a girl or a child, not an eighteen-year-old man, and he hated it. 

He was instructed to talk to the lady again and get his food. He did as told and sat back down at a table. Roxy and Jane were carried in soon after. John smiled brightly at the sight of them. The two smiled back and grabbed their lunch before sitting down next to him.

"Hi, Roxy. Hi, Jane," John said, just wanting to hear his own voice again. 

"Hey, John," Roxy said cheerfully, pushing her blonde hair behind her ear. 

"Hi, John. How are you settling in?" Jane asked. John frowned and started eating. 

"Fine, I guess. Honestly, I don't want to 'settle in'. Who could get used to this place? It's so weird," John replied. Jane tilted her head to the side.

"How is it weird? Everything here is super organized," she said. 

"Organized? We randomly eat with random people and have a buff guy carry us. How is that organized?" John said, unable to hide his irritation with T.U.S.S. Jane giggled.

"We eat three times a day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at specific times. The people that eat at the same time are all in different locations. Have you seen this store from the other side?" John shook his head. "The set-up is like that of a pet store. Clothes and accessories are on the right side, 'toys' and 'treats' are on the left side, and we are in the back. There are a lot more girls at this store. No clue as to why. The boys are in the middle of the store, and the girls are on the sides. The people that eat together are chosen by how far away we are in our cages. If we're far away from each other, it makes it harder for us to plan an escape."

"If they're worried about that, why do they let us talk at all?" John asked. 

"Because if we don't socialize, we'll go crazy," Roxy said. "That's why we have to meet with a therapist once a week." John was shocked. 

"Really?" He asked. Roxy nodded. Jane added,

"And the reason we're carried from place to place is also to make it harder for us to run away."

"And they might need to to get you on the upper level. I'm on the bottom row though," Roxy said and then laughed. "That rhymed." They all smiled at the small joke.

The three continued speaking until the man came back into the room and carried John back to his cage. He was taken back to the room for dinner hours later. After that, he was allowed to shower himself and brush and floss his teeth. He was carried back into his cage to sleep. In the morning, he was woken up to eat breakfast and then brush his teeth. He slowly sunk into a daily routine that involved long hours of sitting around and doing nothing but watch people shop and occasionally stare at him.

At the end of the week, after lunch, John was taken to a therapist. The room was small, but it had a window. The therapist didn't make him speak, so he didn't. He just stared out the window in peace until his time was up. As the weeks passed, John slowly started talking to the therapist. He didn't tell her everything, but he opened up to her quite a bit. Months passed, and John grew content with his life in a way. He was still traumatized and numb, but he grew to be great friends with Roxy and Jane. 

The two women had been thieves in different cities and easily ended up as slaves due to their good looks and large breasts. They were the type of people John would never have gotten to know if not for their situation. He never told them how he ended up as a slave, and Roxy and Jane never made him tell them. John finally had friends, and that made him very happy. Four months later, Jane was sold, and Roxy and John both sobbed in grief, hugging each other until they were taken back to their cages. A total of eight months had passed when Roxy was finally sold. John was all alone and couldn't stop crying. He ate very little and slept all day. He slowly woke up from a nap that day to see a tall, toned man with pointy, anime-like sunglasses staring at him. John sat up and covered himself with his blanket. The man read the sticker on the window and then looked back at John. He opened his mouth and started talking to one of the employees.

The employee smiled brightly at him as they spoke right in front of John's cage. A few minutes later, a black man with bulging biceps took John out of his cage and carried him to a room John had never been to before. It was very small and had a toilet in the center of the room next to a hose and a stool with supplies on it. The man led John over to the hose. 

"Um, what's going on?" John asked. The man pulled out the hose and poured a gooey substance on the end.

"Someone bought you," he replied in a gruff voice. Instant fear rushed over John. He couldn't believe he was bought by a man. "Take off your boxers and bend over the stool." John hesitantly tugged at the waistband of his boxers. 

"Why?" 

"It's standard procedure." John swallowed thickly and took off his boxers. The man took them from him and placed them in a small box by the door. John bent over the stool and rested his elbows on it shyly. The man put on a pair of rubber gloves and finished coating the hose in the gooey substance. "Just relax, John." He spread John's bottom cheeks and gently pushed the nozzle of the hose inside of him. John winced and jerked away from him. 

"Stop! What are you-" John protested. 

"Shh, just hold still." John panted and tried to do so. The man turned a knob and water flooded into John. John bit his lip to keep from crying out in surprise. "Deep breaths. It will be over soon." It felt like it had been an eternity when the water finally stopped. "Now, I need you to hold it for just a little bit." John nodded slowly. He was relieved when he was guided to the toilet and allowed to empty himself. His entire body was shaking with weird feelings. 

The man dried John off and then gave him back his boxers along with simple white shorts and a plain white T-shirt. He changed into them as instructed. The man then pulled out a rag and poured a liquid in it. He handed the rag to John.

"Hold this up to your nose and breath like normal." John took the rag and stared at it.

"Wh-why?" He asked. 

"Please just do it, John." John shook his head. 

"I don't want to go home with him. I'm not a homosexual," John said fearfully. 

"You don't have a choice. You're a slave, and you've been bought. Now, let the rag put you to sleep, so your new owner can fuck you easily." John whined and threw the rag to the floor. 

"No way! I'm a person. I did nothing wrong! None of this is fair!" John shouted and ran to the door. The man grabbed John from behind and held the rag up to his mouth and nose. John thrashed in his arms and screamed into the rag, but he quickly lost consciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

Hours later, John slowly regained consciousness. His ears were ringing, and his body felt so tired. The world underneath him was soft and push, nothing like the hard bottom of his cage. His arms were tied to his sides with ribbon. His legs were also tied together with the same ribbon. He lazily opened his eyes. The first strange thing he noticed was the ceiling. It was plain and white, like the ceiling in the cafeteria room or the therapist's room. The next thing he noticed was his lack of glasses. As he looked down at his body that was covered with blue birthday ribbon, he could only see blurry chunks of color in the distance. 

He was laying on top of white sheets with a pattern of card suits on a soft bed. He was wearing nothing but a pair of warm, white boxers. He looked to his left to see a blurry window and heard the faint sounds of birds chirping. He wondered where he was. It was soft, naturally lighted, and the air smelled like cologne, apples, and the snack section of a dollar store. It was comforting. He wondered if he was in heaven. When had he died? Was it April thirteenth, on his eighteenth birthday? That was the last day that seemed real, the last day that contained full comfort. Maybe those eight months were his purgatory, and now he was in heaven. 

All of these inspiring thoughts spiraled away when he opened his mouth to take in a deep breath and realized that he couldn't. There was a rough-textured rag in his mouth, wet with his own spit. John pulled his legs up to move, but his left ankle was chained to the end of the bed with a metal cuff.

"He is, but why did you even bother?" A male voice asked. John froze in panic and slowly turned his head to the right side. Someone was standing in the corner of the room. He wasn't facing John, and he appeared to be on the phone. Panic rushed through John as he remembered the most recent events in his life. Roxy had been sold, and he had just been bought. The man in the room slowly paced back and forth. "Yeah, thanks, bro. Bye." 

John tested his restraints as the man walked over to him and sat down on the bed next to him. He was a tall man with styled blonde hair, and he wore aviators. He gently reached towards John's mouth. John's heartbeat sped in fear as he wiggled away from him. The man sighed and took the rag out of John's mouth. John swallowed and tried to adjust to his empty and dry mouth. The man just watched him with no trace of emotion on his face. John stared back at him with a look of concern. 

"Hey," the man said monotoned. 

"H-hey," John said in a shaky voice. The man grabbed a manilla folder from the bedside table and opened it. He started looking through the papers in it. 

"Your name's John," the man muttered to himself as he looked over a paper. "And you're not trained. Eighteen years old…needs prescription glasses…peanut allergy..." John watched him silently. Finally, the man put down the folder and looked back at John. He slipped two long, pale fingers under the ribbon on John's stomach. John flinched at the touch. The man gently pulled on the ribbon, unintentionally tightening the rest of the ribbons that were wrapped around John's body. John whimpered and looked away. The man let go of the ribbon and stood up. 

John watched him as he left the room. A few minutes later, he returned with a pair of scissors. He sat back down next to John and cut the ribbon off of him. John scrambled away from him once the ribbons were gone. He couldn't believe his hands were free and happily ran his hands over his sides where the ribbons had been. The man turned to look at John.

"Hey, sorry about the ribbons. Bro just wanted to wrap you up, I guess. You are my present after all," he said.

"Your present?" John asked in a quiet voice. The man nodded. 

"Yeah, Bro bought you and your little baby blue eyes. Seriously, there's like a fucking ocean of pastel blue waving around in your eye socket. I hope that ocean doesn't have salt in it. That would sting. I bet fish swim outta your eyes when you cry. That's really why Bro bought you. He knows your tears will get me food for weeks." The blonde man nervously bit his lip and shook his head. 

"I'm Dave Strider. I own you now. This is my apartment. I live alone. Well, I guess you live here too now. I won't make you call me 'master' or any weird, kinky shit like that. Dave is fine." John nodded. 

"It's nice to meet you, Dave. I'm John Egbert," John said. Saying his name gave him a strange sort of confidence. 

"Strider." John was confused. 

"What?"

"John Strider. Bro changed your last name to match mine." John's jaw dropped. 

"Why?" Dave shrugged. 

"That's what most people do when they buy a sex slave. It's just part of the process." John repeated his new name over and over in his head. It didn't sound bad to him, but it didn't sound right. It just wasn't his name. Before John could have an identity crisis, Dave handed him his glasses. "Oh, here." John took them and put them on.

"Thank you." John properly looked around the room that was now in focus. There were random cords snaked along the floor and a set of swords hanging on the wall. There was a laundry basket with clothes surrounding it and a desk with books and a laptop on it. He looked back at Dave. He had a handsome face with light freckles dusting the tops of his cheeks. He wore a red raglan shirt with a record symbol on it and black, skinny jeans. His face was freshly shaved, and his build was slender but tall. He looked like the kind of guy every girl would want to date. 

"Where are you from?" Dave asked. 

"Washington," John replied.

"Washington? Damn, you got here fast. It only legalized there a couple weeks ago." John was shocked. He looked down at the sheets sadly. All of his persuasive, research papers seemed pointless now. Dave stared at John in silence for a few minutes. "What am I even supposed to do with you?" He wondered out loud. John shrugged in response. 

"Are you hungry?" Dave asked. John nodded. Dave stood up. "Do you like pizza?" John nodded again, his eyes still on the bed. Dave left the room. John looked up at the doorway once he was gone. He could see part of a couch and a bar stool. Dave walked back into the room about twenty minutes later with a cooked frozen pizza and sat back down on the bed. He set the entire pizza down in front of John. "Here." 

"Thank you," John said and slowly reached for a slice. He hesitated and looked at Dave. 

"What's wrong? It's just cheese pizza," Dave said flatly. John looked back at the food and took a slice. He ate two slices and then looked back down at the bed. "You can have more." John shook his head.

"I'm full." 

"Are you sure?" John nodded. 

"I don't eat much." 

"I can tell." John looked at Dave again. 

"What do you mean?" 

"You're really thin," Dave said. John shrugged. 

"I may be thin, but I am very strong," John said proudly. He had grown to be rather muscular in his arms from all of his random jobs to raise money. Unfortunately, John's muscles atrophied over the months he spent in the store. Dave smirked.

"Oh, really? How much can your wimpy arms lift?" Dave asked. 

"I can bench 140." Dave shook his head. 

"As if. I bet you couldn't lift eighty." 

"I completely can." John was slightly hurt by Dave's disbelief. Dave shrugged.

"Whatever you say." John looked back down and crossed his arms over his chest. Dave grabbed the rest of the pizza and left the room. John stared at his pale, thin arms. It was only then that he realized just how much pale he really was. He had not been outside since his birthday, and he really missed the outdoors. The breeze, the smell of the grass, and the vivid colors. He pondered asking Dave if he would take him outside. Dave walked back into the room.

"I've got class tomorrow, so I need to get to sleep," Dave said. "I am sure as hell not taking the couch, and I don't think I can cuff you to it." 

"I can sleep on the floor," John offered. He really didn't want to sleep next to Dave. Dave shook his head. 

"No, you don't have to." Dave walked to the closet and pulled off his shirt. John looked down. "You've been sleeping for the last five hours. Are you even tired?" Dave changed into a pair of red, basketball shorts. He walked back over to the bed. 

"Not really," John said honestly. Dave turned off the lights and handed him the remote to the television. 

"I don't care what you watch. Just keep the volume down." John turned on the television. Dave looked at John and then walked back to the closet. He grabbed a plain, gray T-shirt and tossed it to John. He caught it. "There you go." John stared at it. Dave laid down under the covers. Wearing proper clothing had become a very rare event for John. He ran his fingers over the soft cloth. He put on the shirt and suddenly felt the urge to cry. He never thought he'd wear a T-shirt again. Dave looked over at him curiously. 

"Master has given Dobby clothes," John said, referencing Harry Potter. "Dobby is free." 

"Did you seriously just quote Harry Potter?" Dave asked, humored. John smiled and nodded. 

"Dobby is a free elf. You have to let me go now." John knew he was pushing his boundaries, even for a joke. Dave's expression remained blank. 

"Dobby may be free, but you're not. You're a sex slave, not a house elf. There's no way for you to get back your freedom. Ever. You ruined it for yourself, and now you're mine. Just lay down." John's throat went dry, and his chest ached. He laid down as told and turned away from Dave, on his side. He set his glasses down on the side table and then covered his face with his hands as his eyes filled with tears. Dave gently laid the blanket over John's shoulders and middle. John began to cry in shuddering gasps, not bothering to even attempt holding in his emotions. His crying progressively grew stronger until he was sobbing and clenching his stomach. 'It's not fair. I did nothing wrong. I want to go home,' he thought. 

"Look, I didn't mean to make you cry," Dave said. He reached over and gently touched John's shoulder. John flinched away from the touch. 

"Don't touch me!" John shouted and scooted to the very edge of the bed. He continued to sob helplessly. Dave sighed and turned away from John. After about twenty minutes, John was still sobbing hard. Dave put a box of tissues next to John. 

"Here," he said softly and then turned back away. John eventually did take the tissues to wipe off his snot and tears. He sniffled, turned off the television, and then fell asleep. He woke up in the morning to the sound of an alarm clock. Dave groaned and turned it off. He sat up and stretched with a yawn. He stood up and walked out of the room. John threw off his blanket, sat up, and tried to pull his knees up to his chest. He was stopped by the chain on his ankle. Dave popped his head into the room.

"Do you like frosted flakes?" He asked. His blonde hair was messy from sleep, and his eyes were in sight. John nodded.

"They're great," he responded, referencing the commercial. Dave rolled his ruby red eyes and left the room. John couldn't believe Dave's eye-color. He assumed it was just a trick of the light, and they were actually a shade of brown. Dave returned to the room a couple minutes later with two bowls of cereal. He handed one to John. John happily munched on it. Dave sat next to him and started eating his own. 

"I have two classes this morning, one after lunch, and work tonight. I'll shower after I finish eating, and then I'll give you your bath," Dave said in between bites. John almost choked on his cereal when he heard the last line. 

"Bath?" He asked. Dave nodded. 

"I don't want you to stink," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

"I can clean myself. I won't take too long, really. In and out, five minutes in the shower," John said a little bit too desperately. He used to take fifteen minute showers at the store. The workers insisted that it was important to be extra clean in case you were bought that day. 

"I want to bathe you," Dave said honestly. John swallowed a bite of cereal uncomfortably. The reality of what Dave really wanted from him started to sink in even deeper. 'When is he going to do it?' John wondered. He wasn't even entirely sure what Dave would do to him. He had no idea how sex between two males worked. Dave finished eating and showered as promised. 

John was still creeped out by Dave saying that he would bathe him. He tested the strength of the cuff on his ankle and pulled his leg away from the bed as hard as he could. He squeezed his eyes shut and kicked his foot forward and then yanked it back. He scooted forward and grabbed the cuff. It was thick, smooth metal and had a keyhole on it. He found where it would open and tried to pry it open. 

"C'mon," he mumbled as he used all his strength to try and open the cuff. He saw the opening widen slightly but the lock in the middle was unmoving. He heard Dave open the bathroom door and immediately let go of the cuff. Dave walked into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He pulled out fresh clothing and shamelessly dropped his towel in front of John. John squeaked at the sight of Dave's pale bottom and covered his eyes. Dave dressed himself fully and put on his shades. He unlocked John's cuff and scooted it to the side. 

"Okay, time for your bath. Take off your clothes," Dave deadpanned. John uncovered his eyes and looked up at Dave. 

"Please, I can do it myself," he said. Dave was still.

"Just take off your clothes, John." John swallowed and stood up before pulling off his shirt. He looked up at Dave and noticed their significant height difference. Dave took his shirt and held it. John hesitated before taking off his boxers, a shade of pink brushing his cheeks. Dave put John's clothing in the hamper and then walked to the bathroom. "Come on." 

John slowly followed him and covered his privates. Dave sat on the toilet next to the full bathtub. John blinked uncomfortably. There were no bubbles. John slowly sat down crosslegged in the tub and covered his chest and privates shyly. Dave picked up a cup and scooped up some water. He poured the warm water over John's shoulders. 

"Close your eyes," Dave said softly. John did so and hugged himself closer. The water from the cup cascaded down John's unruly black locks and dampened them. Dave poured an apple-scented shampoo into his hands and gently massaged the gooey substance into John's hair. John stayed silent as little, white bubbles surrounded his hair. Dave rinsed out the shampoo and then rubbed conditioner in. 

He let it sit and grabbed a bar of soap. John opened his ocean blue eyes and watched as Dave lathered his body with slick bubbles. Dave slid the bar behind John and rubbed his shoulder blades. His other hand rubbed John's slippery chest. He rubbed his palm over John's left nipple longer than necessary to clean it. John whimpered at the sensation and scooted away from Dave's touch. Dave pulled him closer and gently pinched the pink flesh. 

"S-stop," John stuttered in a breathy voice. Dave shushed him and set down the bar of soap. He played with both of John's nipples, making the boy shutter and grab Dave's hands. "No more." 

"Shh, close your eyes," Dave shushed as he stopped touching John and rinsed him off. Dave stood up and grabbed a towel. "Stand up." John fluttered open his damp eyelashes and stood up. Dave gently patted off the droplets of water from John's body and then rubbed John's hair until it was no longer dripping wet. He unplugged the bathtub and draped a towel over the toilet. "Sit down." 

John stepped out of the tub and sat down on the toilet. He covered his privates and kept his eyes on Dave. Dave grabbed a hairbrush and smoothed back John's damp hair. He turned the hairdryer on low and slowly dried John's hair, careful to not stay in one place too long. John's hair was a dark mess that fluffed up when Dave turned off the dryer. Dave smirked and tried to brush it down to no avail. 

He set down the brush and grabbed a toothbrush still in a package. He opened it and handed it to John along with a tube of toothpaste. He instructed John to brush his teeth. John was glad he was allowed to at least do that himself. Dave watched him as he did so. He set his toothbrush next to Dave's in a small holder on the sink. 

Dave went back into the bedroom and grabbed a pair of red boxers, a blue shirt, and white shorts. He handed John the clothes and instructed him to wear them. John dressed in front of him and then hugged himself. He felt so exposed. Dave led him to the bed and picked up the ankle chain but put it back down. John sat down on the bed again.

"Stay in this room and the bathroom. No exploring, no snooping, no leaving," Dave said. "You can watch T.V. I'll be back at noon." John nodded in response. He felt embarrassed and exposed from the bath and just wanted to crawl into a ball. He put on his glasses as Dave grabbed a laptop bag and then left the apartment. John ran to the door once it shut and watched Dave walk down the street until he was out of sight. John bit his bottom lip. 

He was not going to let Dave touch him again. He was a man now, and he was stronger than all of this. After getting his surprisingly sensitive nipples touched, he realized just how horrified he was at the thought of getting fucked by a guy. 'No leaving?' He thought angrily. 'Fuck you, Dave. I'm out of here!' He marched back to the bathroom to check himself in the mirror. He opened the door and walked in. He froze when he saw his reflection for the first time in nine months. He touched his pale, bony cheek with shock engulfing his expression. 

His anger only rose as he stared at the ghost of the person he once was. With a little make-up and the right lighting, he could probably be mistaken for a girl. His body was hairless, and his skin was as smooth as silk. His hair was long for a boy's. He thought that he looked like someone from an emo band with his messy, dark hair caressing his porcelain pale skin. 

He was underweight and weak. John placed his hands on the sink and sunk down to his knees. He felt sick just looking at the alien image of himself. His bottom lip quivered. He didn't realize just how much staying in T.U.S.S. had changed him. He roughly bit down on his lip to stop himself from crying. He wasn't going to have a pity party at that moment. He stood and walked back to the door. He tried to open it and started to freak out when it didn't budge. He had wondered if he was locked in before he realized that he needed to unlock the door.

He sighed at his foolish confusion and opened it.


	4. Chapter 4

A wave of heat and fresh air rushed over John. He took a step out of the building and closed the door behind himself. He took a deep breath, the beautiful smell of fresh air filling his lungs. His eyes watered with relief as he started walking down the relatively empty sidewalk. He knew he really wasn't in Washington due to the Spring-like weather in December. He took in the sight of the green leaves and warm concrete beneath his bare feet. 

He knew he couldn't go far without shoes or money, and deep in his mind, he knew that escape was near to impossible, but he continued walking regardless. He felt better and better the further he walked from the apartment. He smiled and looked up to the blue sky, and then he suddenly just lost it. He sprinted down the sidewalk until he found a large park full of green hills. He laughed like a child as he wasted his built up energy in his sprint. He ignored the small amount of confused people in the park as he ran in circles just because he could. He laid down on a wooden bench with his side aching and his breath ragged, but he felt amazing. 

He stared at the sky once more and reached his hands towards the fluffy patches of white scattered across the blue world above him. The sky felt so close and yet so far away from him. He giggled as he wiggled his fingers. He rested his eyes and laid his hands on his stomach. He felt like a child again, free and happy. He laid there like that for a while. 

"What the hell are you doing?" A woman's voice asked. John's eyes popped open. 

"I'm uh...just enjoying the sun," John said awkwardly. The woman crossed her arms over her chest. 

"And where are your shoes?" She asked. John shrugged, starting to get nervous. 

"I didn't feel like wearing them." 

"You're a slave, aren't you?" The woman asked with disgust in her voice. John sat up and shook his head. 

"No, of course not. Are you a slave?" John was agitated and scared. He knew that if he was caught, Dave wouldn't be happy. He really didn't want to see the angry side of him. The woman scowled. 

"Of course I'm not! Unlike you, I am wearing shoes, and I'm not running around the park like some kind of heathen! I'm calling slave control." She pulled out her cellphone. 

"No, don't. Look, I really don't want to deal with that right now. I'm having a hard time with money right now, okay? Please just-I'm not a slave." John was a terrible liar, and he knew it, but he gave the woman the most pitiful look that he could muster. He stood up, ready to run.

"Better safe than sorry." She started to dial a phone number. John took off in a flash, heading back to Dave's apartment. The woman tried to follow him but ran out of breath and gave up easily. He hurried back into the house and locked the door, panting and sweating. He walked to the bathroom and washed the dirt and grass off of his feet before going back to the bedroom. He sat back on the bed and sighed. 'That was close,' he thought. 

He was sad that he had to go back, but he knew there weren't many ways around it. He was property now, nothing but a sex toy with a couple rights. He wondered if he should just accept his fate and get over it. The thought made him upset. He grabbed the remote and turned on the television. He started flipping through the channels when he realized that Dave had cable. His eyes widened with interest as he flipped through the seemingly endless amount of channels. He found an interesting show and watched that for hours. Dave came home at noon and walked back into the bedroom. John was laying down on his stomach watching the show. Dave sat down next to him.

"I'm back," he said bluntly. John looked over at him and then looked back at the screen. "Well, hello to you too. How are you doing?" John shrugged. Dave sighed. "C'mon, John. Talk to me." John remained silent. "Aren't you hungry?" Dave looked at the screen and snickered. "You're really watching How I Met Your Mother?" John nodded. Dave turned off the television. 

"Hey! I was watching that," John said angrily as he sat up and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Don't ignore me," Dave said. He lifted an arm. "Come here." John shook his head. "John, come here." His voice became a bit more firm. 

"No, why should I?" John snapped. 

"Because I told you to," Dave said just as rudely. 

"I don't want to."

"Come here," Dave growled. His tone of voice scared John to an incredible extent. John crawled over to him as instructed in fear. Dave wrapped an arm around John's shoulders and pulled him closer. He slipped his free arm under John's knees and pulled him into his lap. He turned back on the television for John. He pulled John closer so that his head was resting against Dave's shoulder. Dave gently pet John's hair. 

John didn't move and just let Dave gently hold him and pet his hair. He didn't even turn his head to watch the show. He was frozen in shock and fear until the fear eventually faded away. He sighed contently, ashamed at how comforting Dave's gentle touch was. With time, he relaxed in his arms, listening to the sound of Dave's gentle heartbeat. Dave gently set John down and stood up. 

"I'm gonna make lunch," he said. John nodded. He sat back against the wall and stared at the television screen. However, his thoughts were not on the humorous men on the show but on the man in the kitchen. Dave walked back into the room about twenty minutes later with cheese toasties and peas. He handed John a plate. 

"Thanks," John mumbled and ate slowly. 

"No problem, ocean eyes," Dave said as he sat next to John and started eating as well. He grabbed the remote and changed the channel. "There's nothing on." He kept flipping through the channels with boredom dominating his indifferent expression. John remained silent as he ate his lunch. Dave settled for MTV and set down the remote. John was instantly bored with the show and contemplated changing the channel, but the remote was on Dave's side of the bed, so he would have to get closer to Dave to get it. He decided it wasn't worth it and kept his eyes on the stupid show. John finished eating and looked over at Dave who looked back at him with interest. 

"Finished?" Dave asked. John nodded. Dave took their plates and walked to the kitchen. John watched the door as he waited for him to come back. When he did, John looked back at the television immediately. Dave smirked and grabbed his bag again. "I'm going to my next class. I'll see later." John nodded and looked back down as Dave left. 

A week of this casual behavior carried on. Dave would bathe John every morning, but he would never touch him sexually. Despite John's constant nervousness, he had to admit that living with Dave wasn't that bad. Dave was surprisingly kind and treated John like a precious, half-broken, porcelain doll. He tried his best to entertain him with games and conversation, and John had to admit that there was something about Dave that was very likable. John didn't say much and avoided most of Dave's attempts at conversation. Unfortunately John's rising hope that Dave didn't really want him for sexual purposes came to a crashing halt one late night after Dave came home from work. 

John was instructed to take his shirt off and move his arms above his head while laying down. John nervously did so as Dave sat next to him on the bed with fiery red eyes full to the brim with lust. He gently grabbed John's left wrist and tightened a thick leather strap around it, chaining him to the bed. He did the same to John's right wrist, leaving his hands useless and away from each other. 

John's eyes were wide with fear as Dave threw a leg over his middle and hovered over him. He slowly lowered his head towards John's. John's heartbeat rose in anticipation as Dave softly pressed their lips together. John stayed completely still and looked off to the side. Dave kept kissing John, trying to encourage him to kiss back, but John wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. 

When their lips finally parted, a dark blush coated John's cheeks. He knew he should complain and ask Dave to stop, but at the same time, he knew that it was worthless. He just hoped whatever Dave did wouldn't hurt. Dave slowly slipped his hands up and down John's smooth chest and stomach. He lowered his head back down and kissed just below John's ear. He slowly kissed his way down his neck. His kisses were wet and hot, making John feel all tingly. He kissed down to John's collarbone, staying gentle the entire time. He kissed back up to John's ear and then whispered,

"Just relax. I'm only touching your upper body. You don't have to touch me or kiss me back or anything if you don't want to. Relax." John hid his immediate relief at Dave's words. He wasn't fond of being touched at all, but at least he wasn't getting his pants off tonight. He slowly relaxed as Dave kissed down to his chest. John closed his eyes and tried to imagine that a girl was touching him. He thought of Roxy; her large breasts and milky skin. He never wanted to be in a romantic or sexual relationship with her, but she was attractive, and John pictured her as the one who was touching him so softly. 

John jumped when a tight pucker of lips enclosed around his sensitive nipple. He tried to move his arms down, accomplishing nothing but clinks of the chains. Callused hands rubbed his side therapeutically as the lips sucked his pink nub of flesh. John whimpered in pleasure and threw his head to the side. The hand stopped rubbing his side and moved to his chest to give his neglected nipple attention. Fingers thicker than his own gently twisted and pulled, making John whimper more and squeeze his eyes further closed. He felt heat pool in his lower regions and squirmed in discomfort. 

He opened his eyes and was thrown back into reality. He panted deeply as he realized just how turned on he was. He was already half hard, and he was really horny. As Dave kept working his chest, he couldn't help but be ashamed of himself. He felt sexually confused as to how Dave had managed to make him feel so hot in only a few minutes or at all for that matter. He blushed even darker and started thrashing away from Dave and his bonds. 

"Stop it! Stop!" John cried as flailed around miserably. Dave immediately stopped and sat back on John's hips, creating friction in his lower regions and making him moan. He took a deep breath to keep himself from thrusting his hips up. He was fully erect now and needed to touch himself. "No more of this! Please! Get off of me!" Dave crawled off of him as requested and sat next to him, eyeing his tight shorts. 

"Okay, I'm done. We're stopping," Dave said softly. John blinked away the tears of shame in his eyes and looked over to the bathroom. He needed to get rid of his erection, and he really wanted to masterbate again. 

"I...I have to use the bathroom!" John said, his voice still frantic. 

"Uh, do you want-" 

"Please! I have to use the bathroom really bad!" John cut him off. Dave quickly untied John's wrists from the headboard. John dashed to the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind himself. He locked it and hurried to the toilet as he pulled his pants and underwear down. He placed a hand on the cold wall to balance himself and started to rub his painfully hard erection. 

After a couple minutes full of slow strokes and ragged breathing, John felt himself relax. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to imagine someone else touching him. He used to masterbate before T.U.S.S. He had seen it in a movie when he was seventeen and decided to try it. It was a little embarrassing, and he was always worried about getting caught, but it felt so good. He tried to think of something sexual to get himself to finish faster. He knew he couldn't keep Dave waiting long. 

That was it-Dave. He thought of Dave touching him. He imagined the blonde's long, warm fingers on his erection. He would whisper sweet things in his ear as he would slowly bring John to orgasm. With these thoughts in mind, John released his seed into the toilet with a moan. His legs shook as he flushed the toilet and pulled his boxers and shorts back on. He washed his shaky hands and then walked back out to Dave.

Dave was sitting on the bed staring at him with a look of concern. John swallowed nervously and sat back down on the bed. He found himself blushing from just looking at Dave. He couldn't believe he had actually pictured him, a man, touching him as he climaxed. It was extremely embarrassing and awkward. 

"You okay?" Dave asked in a curious voice. John nodded so quickly it was as if his life depended on it. 

"Yeah, yep. Uh-huh. Completely. I'm great. A hundred percent," he said in a quick, choppy dialect. Dave nodded slowly. 

"...okay then," he said after a moment's hesitation. He turned off the light and laid down on the bed. John took off his glasses and set them down on the little table to his side before crawling under the covers and scooting closer to his side of the bed. 

"Goodnight, John," Dave said quietly. John closed his eyes. 

"Goodnight, Dave." John fell asleep to calm sound of Dave's breathing.


	5. Hope

John awoke in the morning to the sound of the bathroom door closing. He yawned as he sat up and stretched out his arms. Dave had given up on the ankle chain long ago. It was obvious that he believed John wasn't going to try to escape. John stood up and walked to the kitchen. He was allowed to pour himself cereal in the morning, but he wasn't allowed to 'raid the fridge' while Dave was gone. He pulled out a bowl and poured himself a small bowl of cereal. Dave had the tendency to give him way too much food. 

He always felt bad when he couldn't finish it, but Dave didn't seem to mind. He grabbed a spoon out of the silverware drawer that was perfectly round. The sight was strangely appealing to him, and he wondered where Dave bought his 'ironic items' such as the round spoon. He started eating as he walked back to the bedroom and sat down on the bed. Dave came out of the shower a few minutes later. John looked down at his meal instantly. He always grew extremely nervous when he saw Dave nude. 

"You're up early," Dave said. John shrugged. 

"I woke up hungry," John said in between bites. Once Dave dressed, he took John's empty bowl to the sink and then started to fill up the bathtub with water. John stood up and took off his pants. Dave walked back into the room. 

"Ready for your bath?" He asked. John nodded and took off his underwear and glasses. Dave guided him back to the bath. John happily sat in the warm water and looked up at Dave who crouched down in front of him and started to wash his hair.

"So, Dave, um, I've been thinking," John said hesitantly. Dave smirked as he rubbed the shampoo into John's hair. 

"Oh, really? I didn't know you could do that," he said. John rolled his eyes. 

"Ha ha, you're so funny, but I um-"

"Close your eyes," Dave said softly. John did so as Dave washed out the shampoo. "'kay, you're good." He opened his bright blue eyes and tightened his expression into one of determination. 

"I want to go outside." 

"Why?" Dave asked flatly. He gently massaged the conditioner into his hair. 

"Because I haven't been outside in a really long time. Just look at me; I'm all pale." Dave's eyebrows went up in a soft expression.

"I like you how you are," he said quietly. John was quiet for a moment. 'Was that a compliment?' He wondered.

"Well...I...don't? Look, I just really wanna go outside. Please, Dave." Dave thought about this as he washed John's body with soap. 

"Okay." 

"Okay?" John asked, staring at him desperately. Dave nodded.

"My sister invited me over for a cookout tonight. Jade's been wanting to meet you anyways. I'll take you with me." He poured warm water over John's shoulders. "I just need to get you a leash." 

"A leash?" John was appalled. "No way." He closed his eyes as Dave rinsed out the conditioner. 

"What's so wrong with a leash? I won't pull on it or anything. I'll even let you pick out your collar." John shook his head, splashing little droplets of soapy water on Dave.

"No, no, no! No way. No collar, no leash. Nope!" Dave chuckled and unplugged the drain. 

"Okay, fine, but then you have to hold my hand the whole time."

"Deal," John said as he stood up. Dave gently dried off John's hair with a towel. John closed his eyes as the soft cloth pushed his cheeks in. Dave smirked at this and kissed him softly. John was surprised and opened his eyes. Dave draped the towel over John's shoulders as he exited the bath. Dave brushed and dried John's mess of hair and then let him brush his teeth. He led him out of the bathroom and dug through his closet for clothes for John.

"I really need to get you your own clothes. Everything's way too big for you. Rose is definitely gonna get mad at me for that," Dave muttered. He pulled out a pair of black, skinny jeans and a plain red T-shirt. He tossed them to John. "There. That's all I have that's clean. I'll find you a belt." He crouched down and searched through the bottom of his closet. 

"Um, Dave?" John asked as he pulled on the shirt and covered his lower regions. 

"What?" John's face turned pink.

"Underwear," he said in a shrill voice. Dave nodded and threw him a pair. "Thanks." He dressed himself and had to hold up his pants to keep them from falling down. Dave stood up with a belt in his hands and put it on John. 

"Tight enough?" He asked, keeping his hands on John's hips. John nodded.

"Yeah." Dave grabbed his laptop bag and started walking to the door. "Hey, Dave." Dave turned around.

"What?" He asked. John looked down.

"Why do you let me wear clothes?" It was very common for sex slaves to not wear clothes while at home. John wondered why Dave would allow him to wear clothes at all. Dave was silent for a moment. 

"Because you're a person," he said softly. John wasn't sure how to respond to this. Dave actually thought of him as a human being and not just some sex toy or pet? He couldn't believe it. Dave stayed facing John for a while, but John stayed silent. Dave eventually left the house. John sighed and sat down on the bed. He laid down on his back tiredly. 

One of the things that he missed the most about his old life was his entertainment. He was always busy and always doing something. Nowadays, all he did was sit around and watch television. It was so boring for him. He thought he had become used to it after all the months he had spent sitting in a small space for hours in complete silence, but he really had not.

How could anyone just 'get used' to spending hours doing nothing, left to their own thoughts after traumatic events? John sat up, his thoughts overwhelming him again. He thought of his dad once more. He had been raised by the man for eighteen years. How could he just sell John into this horrid life? 

John suddenly had an idea. His therapist at T.U.S.S. had told him not to confront his troubles. She had said to just not think about them, and he would eventually move on. Somehow John knew that was bad advice. He needed to confront his father. He decided he would go out again today, find a phone, and call his father. 

John found a pair of sandals in Dave's closet and put those on. He didn't want another suspicious and snoopy woman calling slave control. He wondered if he would need money. Maybe he could find a payphone if those even still exist. He had seen one before back in Washington, but he didn't know if it even worked. John walked to the kitchen, a place he was only allowed to go to in the morning for cereal, and started digging through the drawers. 

The drawers were full of random papers including bills, receipts, and other random printed papers. He found a thick envelope and opened it. 'Jackpot,' he thought as he pulled out a hundred dollar bill. It was way more than he needed, and he knew that he would need change to use a payphone. He decided that he could just buy something small and ask for a strangely large amount of change. He shook his head as he pocketed all of the money. 

As he walked to the door, he realized that one-hundred dollars could take him pretty far. Could he escape with the money? He knew he could get pretty far, but the closest place where slavery was illegal was Canada, and he was in Texas. Traveling there would be hard enough on its own, but crossing the border was a completely different story.

John shook away these hopeful thoughts and left the house. He walked down the same sidewalk as before and eventually passed the park. He couldn't believe how silly he had been before. Of course an eighteen-year-old running through the park without shoes on was suspicious. He should have known better.

Once he passed the park, he arrived at a small town full of short, connected buildings. He could see a college dormitory in the distance and knew that he needed to be careful. If the dormitory was there, the actual college had to be close, and that's where Dave was. John kept walking down the sidewalk. He looked at the different buildings as he passed them. There was a bar, an electronics store, and a rundown strip club. Strip clubs weren't nearly as popular as they used to be.

After sexual slavery became legalized in Mexico, parts of Europe, and eventually some of the United States, pornography and strip clubs became much less popular. Why would you pay to watch someone wear skimpy clothing and dance when you could buy a slave and do endless things to them? Pornography had also grown less popular over the years. Why watch when you could act? Of course, purchasing a sex slave was very expensive, not to mention maintaining their health and optionally buying clothing.

John found a small coffee shop and walked inside. It was obvious that he wouldn't be able to find a payphone anywhere. The shop was rather empty with only four other costumers inside. Two were sitting together while the two were sitting alone at different tables. John hesitantly walked up to the front counter. It was so weird to be in a normal coffee shop after everything that had happened. It was strangely both eerie and calming. Once John had made his way to the counter, a peppy, young man with a buzzcut and bright eyes said,

"Hello, welcome to Cosy Coffee, home of the world's best coffee, what can I get for you?" John couldn't help but smile softly back. It was refreshing to speak to someone energetic and genuinely happy. A moment of silence passed as John studied the man's sparkling eyes and smile. He abruptly realized that he was asked a question and looked down with his smile fading.

"Oh, uh, actually…may I use a phone?" He said in a small voice. The man seemed confused. 

"A phone? Um, I'm sorry, but our lines are for business only," he said with a tiny frown. John nodded solemnly. 

"Oh, right. Thank you anyways…" John started walking back to the door. He had no idea how he was going to get a hold of a phone. 

"Here, you can use mine!" A chubby, tall man with white hair called. John turned around and walked up to him excitedly. 

"Really? Thank you so much," he said with pure appreciation radiating from his features. The man chuckled and nodded. 

"Yeah, sure. It's broken, so it only works when it's plugged in. You can just sit here and make your call. I'm gonna go hit on the ladies over there," he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. John nodded eagerly and sat down at the table. 

"Thank you so so much, sir!" He exclaimed as he grabbed the plugged-in phone. The man walked away as John dialed his father's number. He tightened his expression as the phone rang. He was still mad at his dad, and he wasn't going to let himself feel relieved by hearing his voice. He was starting to get worried that no one was going to answer when a woman answered the phone.

"Hello?" She asked. She sounded middle-aged and tired. John was not expecting this. 

"H-hi," he said quietly. 

"Who is this?" John swallowed thickly. 

"This is John. I'm uh-I'm James Egbert's son." There was silence on the other end. "Um, who are you?" 

"Susan. I was James' fiancé."

"Oh, did you two break up? I'm sorry, but why do you have his phone?"

"John, I'm so sorry. James-your father passed away." John nearly dropped the phone in shock.

"What? How? Dad can't be dead."

"He was doing so well. It had been four months of being clean when he relapsed…and overdosed." John's veins frosted, and his bones locked into place.

"What?" He asked in a high voice.

"You're the one he sold, right? He felt so bad, John. It was his greatest regret. We were going to help you escape and go to Canada, start a new life, but we didn't know where you were or how to start looking. How did you get a phone?"

"Someone let me borrow it to call Dad." 

"John, I want to start over. Could we please just restart this conversation?" John furrowed his eyebrows and looked down, trying to swallow the hard truth that his father was dead.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's a good idea. Hi there, I'm John," he said, not sure what to say his last name was. 

"Hi, John. I'm Susan Reynold. I have a plan to help you escape." John bit his lip. Escaping wouldn't be easy, but he was more than willing to listen to a plan. 

"I'm listening," he said, his mood significantly brightened. 

"Have you ever heard the story of Henry 'Box' Brown?" John shook his head even though he knew she couldn't see it.

"No, who's that?"

"He was an African American slave back in the 1800s who was mailed to the north. That's how he became free." John was shocked. 

"You want to mail me to Canada?" He asked. Susan laughed. 

"Yes, I want you to escape on your own first. What state are you in?"

"Texas, I think."

"Damn, that's far. I'd pick you up, but that's just too far away. Could you go to San Francesco, California?"

"Yeah, I just found a hundred dollars. I can use the money to travel there."

"A hundred dollars isn't a lot of money, John. Traveling isn't cheap, and you'll need to eat."

"I know, but I can make it work. I'll take subways and buses and eat cheap food."

"But what about sleeping?"

"I'll sleep on the bus. It's gonna be hard, but I can do this. What's the rest of the plan?"

"I'll meet you in California and pick you up. We'll go to Washington together and then I'll mail you to my apartment in Canada. I'll pack you with blankets and snacks and stamp fragile on the side of the box. I'll be waiting for you there and take you out of the box."

"That's genius, but… why?"

"Why what? I can't think of a better way to get you to safety. They won't look for you once you're out of the country."

"No, I mean, why are you helping me? I really, really appreciate this, but you could put yourself in danger, and this isn't gonna be cheap."

"Because I loved James. This is just something I need to do for you, for me, and for him. Money will be really tight, and I barely have enough, but we'll make this work. I'm going to save you, John."

"Thank you," he said, the sincereness in his voice soothing even himself. 

"Just get to California as soon as you can. Call me when you get there. I'll take off now. Goodbye, John."

"Goodbye, Susan. Thank you so, so, so much," he said just before Susan ended the call. He looked at the phone in his hand with disbelief. He was going to escape. He was going to be free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will probably take a couple weeks to write, but I will work as fast as possible to get it posted quickly.


	6. Chapter 6

John thanked the man once more for letting him use his phone and then left the shop. He walked back to Dave's apartment happily. He knew he wouldn't be there for much longer.

John entertained himself by watching television until Dave came home at noon. He was actually very happy when Dave came home. He decided that since they wouldn't be together for much longer, he should enjoy what little time they had left. He somehow knew that if circumstances were different, he would want to be friends with Dave. He smiled softly at Dave as he walked into the bedroom.

"Hey, Dave. Welcome back," John said, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Hey, John. You're in a good mood today." Dave sat down next to him on the bed and eyed him suspiciously from behind his sunglasses. "Did something happen?" John shook his head, realizing how strange his content behavior must have seemed to Dave.

"No, I was just kinda lonely," he said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. Dave nodded in understanding. 

"Yeah, I bet. I don't know what to do with you during the day. It's not like I can take you with me-wait, maybe I can. Holy shit, John, do you wanna come to class with me? You'll be bored as hell, but it's gotta be better than sitting here all day, and damn, you're so fucking cute. I want everyone to know that you're mine. Wait, no, I'll look bad by comparison." John rolled his eyes. 

"I'm pretty sure you're way more attractive than me." Dave shrugged.

"I think we're both tens in different categories. Like, you're cute, and I'm hot," he deadpanned. John laughed softly. 

"No way! I'm hot too," he joked. Dave smirked and then stood up. 

"I can't disagree with that. Cold meat sandwiches and chips sound good for lunch?" John nodded. "Awesome, come with me so you can put what you want on it."

"Okay," John said as he stood up and followed Dave to the kitchen. "So what classes are you even taking?" Dave pulled out a loaf of bread, ham, turkey, and several different condiments. 

"General courses; Math, Science, English. I'm majoring in art." Dave handed John a butter knife and allowed him to make his own sandwich. 

"So you're an artist? I haven't seen any fancy paintings."

"Not an artist that paints."

"I haven't seen any clay sculptures or amazing drawings. Where are you hiding them?" Dave didn't respond to his joke.

"I make music; rap, hip hop, a little bit of both. I've already got a part-time job DJing at a night club." 

"Woah, that's really cool. Could I listen to your music sometime?" Dave shook his head.

"Sorry, handsome, but I don't think you're ready for the beautiful perfection that is my music."

"Oh, yeah, you're right. I better train first," John said with a little smile as he finished making his sandwich. Dave smirked.

"Hopefully training will be enough to raise your coolness level. Do you like Doritos?"

"Who doesn't like Doritos?" 

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." Dave put a handful of Doritos on both of their plates and then walked with John back to the bedroom to eat. John sat down on the bed and began to eat.

"Do you have any cards?" John asked before shoving a Dorito into his mouth. 

"Why do you think I have cards?" Dave asked plainly. 

"Your sheets have the card symbols on them," John replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Do you seriously not like cards?"

"I never said I didn't have cards."

"It's not what you say; it's how you say it," John said with a smug smile. Dave smirked.

"Well, Mr. Inspirational Quotes, I think you've won this round. I'll get you some cards." Dave stood up and walked to the kitchen. John ate his sandwich while he waited for Dave. Dave came back into the room five minutes later with a deck of cards. He handed John two cards. "There you go." John reached for the deck. "Hey, I said I'd get you some cards, not the whole deck." John pouted.

"Come on, Dave. I want to show you a magic trick," John complained. 

"A magic trick? I didn't know you were a wizard," Dave joked. He handed John the rest of the deck. John happily took it from him and started shuffling the cards.

"I might be a little rusty, but I think I can get this trick right." 

"Let's see it, Mr. Magician." John giggled and then spread out the deck as he held it front of Dave. 

"Pick a card, any card," John said with a smirk. Dave took a card. "Okay, don't show it to me, and put it anywhere in the deck." He did so. John shuffled the cards. "Okay, I'm hiding your card in the deck now. It's gone. Your card is gone. I have no idea where it is." Dave started to snicker. John flicked his wrist, and three cards fell into his free hand. He set down the deck and then grabbed the middle card. "Is this your card?" 

"Woah, that was pure magic. I am so impressed," Dave stated with thick sarcasm. John crossed his arms over his chest.

"The trick was amazing, and you know it." Dave set down his empty plate and then leaned forward. He planted a soft kiss on John's lips before sitting back. 

"It was great," Dave said with a slight smirk. A pastel pink brushed over John's cheeks as he giggled softly and looked away. 

"Thanks... Since we already have the cards out, do you want to play poker?" Something in the back of the raven-haired male's mind cautioned him from playing this game. 

"Yeah, sure, but I don't have poker chips. How about we use Doritos?" John nodded.

"Good idea!" The two played poker for about half an hour. Dave was winning by a landslide, and this bothered John to no end. John was convinced Dave had an ace up his sleeve. He accused him of cheating once, but in truth, Dave's poker face was just too perfect, and his sunglasses just made it harder to guess what was in the blonde's hand. 

Before John was able to slam his cards down in defeat, Dave said that he needed to go to class and offered for John to come with him. After a few long moments of considering, John requested to stay at the apartment. He explained that he would just be too bored in Dave's classes. This was not true. John would have loved to go to a college class even if just to watch. It was the social aspect that he knew he wouldn't be able to handle.

He would be introduced as Dave's slave and would once again be reminded that it was now illegal for him to participate in class. After all the years John had spent raising money to attend college, he was no longer allowed to do just that. This fact saddened the short man beyond belief. He knew that he might have a breakdown and just lose it if he went. 

He watched television and played solitaire as he waited for Dave to come home. He practiced a couple of his magic tricks and pondered taking the deck of cards with him when he escaped. He decided against it. The cards were Dave's after all. He was already stealing one hundred dollars from Dave, and he already felt bad about that. 

He really was just stealing things from Dave by leaving. He was taking his money, his clothes, and his slave. The more John thought about this, the worse he felt. He liked Dave. He fed him properly, gave him clothes, and tried his best to entertain him. Perhaps that was why John liked Dave so much; he tried. 

John had been terrified of being bought because he thought that meant he would constantly be raped and treated badly. He knew that most sex slave owners weren't abusive, but that never soothed his fear. Dave eventually came home and freshened John up before taking his hand and walking him out of the house. 

It was evening. The sun had not yet set but was lower than before, leaving the sky a slowly dimming blue. Dave and John walked side by side down the sidewalk. Their clothes represented the same class as did their cleanliness and posture. They appeared as equals to the strangers along the street, but John knew that was not the case. He sighed softly as they finally approached a neighborhood. 

"Tired?" Dave asked, turning his head down to face John from the side. John shook his head.

"No. It's just nice to be outside again," he replied, giving Dave a tiny smile. He was relieved to know that he would be spending a lot more time outside after tomorrow. Dave nodded. 

"I bet." He gave John's smaller hand a little squeeze which the other gladly returned. They walked up to a large house with a violet door. Dave pressed the doorbell, and in seconds, a fair woman opened the door. She had short, curly, black hair and a narrow face. Her thin lips, glossed with a thick black coating, pulled into a smile as she looked at Dave. She was much taller than John but still slightly shorter than Dave.

"Hello there, Dave. It has been too long since our last meeting," she spoke in a proper tone of voice that made John a little nervous. He scooted closer to Dave in an attempt to hide himself. 

"Hey, Kanaya. Good to see you again too," Dave said with a friendly smirk. He walked inside with John quickly following. 

"Oh, is this your slave?" Kanaya asked, looking down to meet John's wide, blue eyes with her chocolate brown ones. Dave let go of John's hand and wrapped an arm around his thin shoulders.

"Sure is. His name's John." 

"Hi," John said in a voice just above a whisper. Talking with someone in Dave's presence made him feel uneasy. Kanaya softened her expression. 

"It is nice to meet you, John," she said, her voice quieter than before. John leaned into Dave's touch. 

"Yeah, you too." Kanaya looked at him fondly for a moment longer before leading them through the clean, well-organized house to the backyard. Dave removed his arm from John's shoulders and grabbed his hand once more. There were five metal chairs set out on the patio next to a small garden of pastel flowers. A matching table was next to the garden and had food set out on it. John sat down on the chair next to Dave.

A blonde woman who appeared similar to Dave was cooking burgers on an expensive-looking grill. John guessed that this was his sister. She turned around at the sound of two males' footsteps. She gave a small smirk at John. Although it was very funny to John that both Rose and Dave smirked, Rose's smirk was much, much different. Dave's smirk screamed 'cool guy' and confidence while Rose's was smug and mysterious. It made John uncomfortable. It was as if Rose's violet eyes had burned deep into his mind and were currently picking out all of his insecurities and imperfections. 

"Hello, Dave," Rose said in a cool and cocky voice. 

"Hey, Rose. Where's Jade?" Dave asked. Rose shook her head, her perfect, short, blonde hair swaying in the slightest way. 

"She couldn't make it."

"Why not? Jade's been going on and on about this for weeks," Dave said, slight concern brushing over his usual unreadable expression. Rose sighed softly. 

"It's that group she's with," Rose spoke as if she was confessing to a long kept secret. 

"You mean the chick with the punk hair and her skinny boy gang?" Rose nodded.

"Yes… they're having some kind of meet-up today. She kept apologizing but said she just couldn't miss it." 

"That's so not like her."

"I'm sure it was important."

"Doubt it," Dave muttered. "She's just replacing us with her new friends." Kanaya walked outside as Dave spoke.

"Do not mope, Dave. She has her reasons," Kanaya said. 

"I'm just worried about her." The irritation in Dave's voice had dropped to genuine concern. John rubbed his thumb across Dave's in an attempt to soothe his nerves. In response, Dave gave John's hand a small squeeze. 

"We all are," Rose said softly. "But we have to hope these people are good for her. Anyways, I'm thirsty. Coke or Pepsi?" 

"Coke," Dave stated simply. Rose left the backyard. 

"Is it possible that Jade and her friends are viewing the debate tonight?" Kanaya asked once Rose was out of sight. Dave shrugged. 

"I guess. Never thought she was that into politics," he answered. 

"Debate?" John asked curiously. Kanaya nodded. 

"Yes, tonight there is a debate about sexual slavery. George Kirkmore and Karine Wood are the ones debating." John knew these names well. George Kirkmore was a popular political figure, currently the governor of New York. He was known for his compassion and conflicting beliefs with sexual slavery. He believed that sexual slavery was wrong and that all the current slaves should be set free.

Karine Wood was exactly the opposite in her beliefs. She was a well-known lawyer who managed regulations and laws within one-hundred different large corporation sex slave shops. She made sure that sex slaves were treated properly, and that all reported abuse was taken care of. Her memorable speeches were very influential, and it is believed that without her many speeches, sexual slavery never would have spread past the first ten states where sexual slavery had taken its roots. 

John lit with excitement. He strongly admired George Kirkmore and referenced him several times in his different research papers. He was an audacious man who would directly state the problems that the government seemed to want to ignore. John wanted George Kirkmore to win this debate as much as he wanted to breathe. 

"It's obvious that Karine Wood is going to win," Rose stated as she walked towards the group, arms full of soda. John was hurt.

"You don't know that," he grumbled. Rose handed Kanaya a soda can and then Dave. She stood in front of John. 

"She's for slavery, John. Her ideas just make more sense. Coke or Pepsi?" 

"Pepsi pl-"

"Can I give him soda?" she asked, looking to Dave. He nodded. 

"I don't care," Dave muttered. Rose handed John the can of Pepsi. He felt like a child for a moment and looked down. 

"Uh, thanks. George Kirkmore has good ideas too though. He said one time that selling someone's body to another person, regardless of what they've done, is just immoral." Kanaya and Dave appeared shocked that John continued to speak. Rose was quiet for a moment in thought. 

"It's not about morality or ethics. We have slaves because it helps our society's politics." John shook his head. 

"But shouldn't it be about morals? Back in the 1950s and before, America always wanted a 'fair and just society'. Why did that change?" Rose was faster to her response this time. 

"Did we ever really have morals, John? America tried to justify all the immoral things that they did by twisting the words in a book over a thousand years old. We enslaved innocent children and families for years just because of their heritage, and then when that became illegal, we still tried to separate each other to maintain our own comfort. There was nothing just or moral about that." John was silent in thought. 

"The government is supposed to do what's best for our society," Rose added. "Sexual slavery has prevented rape, molestation, millions of crimes, illegal sex slave trafficking, and abuse to minors. Our crime rate is just getting lower and lower." John sighed softly and opened his soda can. 

"Preventing certain crimes doesn't justify the crime our nation is committing," John stated. He was quoting George Kirkmore. Rose chuckled softly. 

"We are saving lives."

"At the cost of another's." 

"No one's life is ended by becoming a sex slave," Rose said.

"It might as well be. It ruins the life of the slave's forever, and the slave isn't always a criminal. What about the slaves that were sold by their parents?" Rose smirked and shook her head. 

"That's only legal in thirteen states now, and it never happens. How can you just sell the person you've spent the last eighteen years raising? Not to mention the fact that the circumstances have to be perfect due to the large amount of exceptions to the law. Parents who have ever had Child Protection Services called on them or have any type of criminal background cannot sell their offsprimg. For Pete's sake, if you have a single parking ticket, it's over. There are more exceptions too, but I can't think of them on hand." John's father was a respectful man with a single problem that ruined the lives of himself and his son. He was never caught for his crimes and had a clear record.

"Just because it's rare doesn't mean it doesn't happen," John insisted. 

"The owners of most slave shops won't even buy them out of sympathy or their own policies. The only two shops I know of that have questionable intentions are CuryYoung and T.U.S.S." John swallowed thickly, contemplating telling them where he was from. 

"But it's still-" Dave gave John's hand a squeeze. 

"That's enough," he said softly. 

"But I just-"

"Shh, come on, that's enough," the tall man cut him off again. John huffed quietly and looked down.

"The food has finished cooking," Kanaya budded in. Rose walked back over to her. John wanted to keep arguing, but he knew it was useless. John stood up just after Dave. The two walked to the tables and plated their meals. They sat back down on their chairs. John sipped his Pepsi. His eyes widened slightly. He rarely had soda at home and hardly drank it, but he did love it. 

He grew a bit hyper when both his plate and can of soda were empty. He shook his leg quickly to keep himself in one place. He wanted to run around the yard very eagerly. He scooted closer to Dave and readjusted his grip on his hand. The three free adults spoke to each other until their plates were cleaned and the sun had begun to set. Kanaya stood up with Rose, and they walked to the table with food set out on it. 

"Dave, could you help us?" Rose asked. Dave nodded and let go of John's hand. 

"Stay put, caffeine cutie," he said as he walked to the table and carried a couple plates inside. John looked over the lightened, wooden, low fence thoughtlessly. He yawned as the three walked inside, his eyes on the street. A flash of a thin, pale woman crossed his vision. John blinked and looked again. It was a half-naked naked woman, wearing nothing but a bra and underwear, most likely the same age as John if not a little older. Upon further inspection, he noticed the woman's face. Her lips were light pink and protruded naturally. Her nose was narrow but not too long. Between curly locks of bleach blonde hair were strange, pink eyes. There was no doubt in his mind. It was Roxy.


	7. Chapter 7

John's feet lifted him from the chair as he dashed to the fence and quickly climbed over it. He sprinted after Roxy, shocked to see her and desperately wanting to speak with her. Roxy didn't slow down and actually sped up at the sound of John's little feet hitting the pavement. John didn't stop running as Roxy turned a corner and left the neighborhood. 

"Roxy!" John called, starting to run out of breath. Roxy stopped in her tracks. She slowly turned around, her eyes in wonder as if she had seen a ghost of her old life. 

"John?" She asked, hesitantly and slowly walking towards him. John closed the gap between them and looked at her in wonder as he nodded. 

"Yeah," he said softly. "What...what are you doing out here? Where are your clothes?" Roxy's pastel pink eyes filled with tears, but none dared to fall.

"He took them from me," she said in a voice just above a whisper. John took another step towards her. 

"Who? Your owner?" Roxy nodded, her curly locks of hair swaying softly. 

"He didn't let me wear clothes. I'm leaving that asshole!" John jumped slightly at Roxy's abrupt exclamation. 

"Woah, woah, Roxy, you can't just escape." John was extremely concerned. He could tell by the bags under Roxy's eyes and dried blood crusted lips that Roxy had no plan.

"Yes, I can. I definitely can't stay there. He leaves me in a dark closet all day until he comes home and fucks me. I'm lucky if I get fed!" John was horrified. 

"If he abuses you, you can call slave abuse," he offered in a small voice. Roxy groaned. 

"Slave abuse? Call slave abuse? Who's side are you on, John?" John shook his head.

"Is it...really that bad?"

"All he does. Is. Fuck. Me." John swallowed thickly. 

"You're not gonna make it on your own."

"I-"

"Let me help you," John cut off. "I was going to escape tomorrow with help from my... almost step mom? But you obviously need this more."

"I'm listening," Roxy said in a softer voice than before, watching John closely. John guided the two of them to a dark alley between two tall buildings. 

"Okay, you just need to get to California. Susan will pick you up from there and take you to Washington. She'll ship you to Canada and be waiting for you there."

"She'll ship me?"

"In a box. She'll stamp, 'fragile' on the side. It will be fine." Roxy looked down for a moment in thought. 

"How are we supposed to get to California?" 

"I have a hundred dollars. It's not exactly enough for both of us... You'll have to go alone." Roxy shook her head. 

"No way. I am not leaving you here." John nodded. 

"Yes, you are. My owner isn't like yours. Dave is really nice. He always feeds me and gives me clothes..." 

"Does it hurt?" One of John's eyebrows went up in confusion. 

"Does what hurt?"

"Sex. Does it hurt when he fucks you, or does he let you fuck him?" John's face burned red. 

"We don't have sex." Roxy's jaw dropped. 

"What? Then what do you do?" John shrugged.

"We play games. Sometimes he touches me but not down there." Roxy's expression was stone cold.

"He will eventually. I care about you, John, and don't want to hurt your feelings, but this is just the beginning for you. He's going to touch you there soon enough. Do you want that? You have to at least try to come with me." John shook his head. 

"I don't...well, maybe I do, but..."

"What?" Roxy's jaw hit the floor. "You want to sleep with him, don't you?" John's face burned as red as a tomato. 

"N-no! I-" 

"That's not okay, John. He's just using your body for his own needs. He's trying to make you fall in love with him, so you'll give consent." John shook his head, his face flushed.

"Well...then it's not a problem, right?"

"What?"

"If I want it, then it's not rape, right?"

"You're his slave. It's always rape."

"But he doesn't treat me like his slave."

"You can be nice to your slave and still treat them as a lesser being." 

"It's not like that," John argued, his ears turning red as well. 

"Just because the guy got you to fall in love with him doesn't mean that you aren't still his victim!" John was silent for a moment before whispering,

"I'm not in love with him."

"You're not?" John nodded.

"I'm not gay." Roxy sighed. 

"Are you sure?" John bit his lip, incredibly embarrassed. He wasn't sure.

"I think. Yeah, I uh...I'm straight." 

"Okay," Roxy said slowly, analyzing John's expression. John shook away his confusing thoughts regarding Dave and then took off his shirt. He handed it to Roxy. 

"Here. You can't walk around naked. It's way too obvious that you're a slave that way." Roxy took it gratefully and put it on. 

"Thank you." John took off his pants as well and looked down as Roxy dressed. He took off his shoes and socks and tossed them to Roxy. 

"You're welcome. I'm just glad it's not cold out," he said honestly, rubbing his arm awkwardly. Roxy fit into Dave's clothes much better than John did. She was taller and curvy, so the clothes were tighter on her. They were still too big, and she had to wear the belt, but it was much less unfitting than when John wore them. 

"This Dave guy could swallow you," Roxy joked. John chuckled. He was relieved that Roxy could still make jokes. It made his chest lift with relief. He nodded. 

"He's so damn tall," John said with a bright grin as he thought fondly of Dave. Roxy laughed. 

"I bet. You're pretty short yourself." 

"I'm 5'3". I'm not that short."

"I'm 5'5"." John crossed his arms over his chest. 

"Well, I'm very proud of you," he said sarcastically. Roxy suddenly hugged John. 

"Thank you. Thank you so, so much." John felt his throat close at the thick emotions washing over him as he hugged her back.

"You're one of my best friends, Roxy. Of course. You should get going now. Dave's probably looking for me. The money's in my pocket." Roxy held onto him for a moment longer. 

"Let me thank you," she said after a moment, pulling away from John.

"Roxy, there's nothing-"

"He showed me." Roxy looked desperate. John knew she didn't want to leave him, and he didn't want to leave her either. He felt that this would be the last time they would meet, and neither of them knew where their futures would lead them. 

"Who showed you what?" John asked, more sad than annoyed at Roxy's lingering presence. Roxy took a step closer to John. 

"I can make you feel really good," she said softly. John didn't have it in his heart to back away from Roxy as her face moved closer to his. 

"It's really okay. You need to get going," John urged her. Roxy connected their lips in a soft kiss. John was hesitant at first, but he kissed her back before gently pulling away.

"Roxy, I'm really sorry, but I don't want to. You're my friend. We shouldn't do this." Roxy's face flushed lightly, but she nodded. 

"You're right. You're a good guy, John, the nicest guy I've ever met." The two's eyes were locked on each other until Roxy finally turned around and sprinted away.

"Bye," John mumbled, feeling sadness weigh on his shoulders as Roxy disappeared from sight. He sighed and turned around to leave the alley only to bump noses with a woman with brown eyes. She hoisted John over her shoulder without warning and started walking back to the sidewalk. 

"H-hey!" John shouted as he tried to wiggle out of Kanaya's grip. "Put me down!" Kanaya rolled her eyes. 

"Stop struggling. Why did you run away? Surely you must have known you could not go far," she stated. John huffed and relaxed under Kanaya's arm. 

"It was worth a try," he said. 

"Dave is very worried about you. You should not have done this. He will surely punish you." John's eyes widened. 

"Wh-what? No, I was going to come back."

"Of course."

"Really, I was!" he insisted. 

"There is no use arguing." John grew extremely concerned, fear pulsing through his body. 

"...What do you think he'll do?" Kanaya was quiet for a moment.

"He will most likely use the most common and widely accepted form of punishment; spanking." John did not want to be spanked. Not only would it hurt considerably, it would also be humiliating. 

"I don't want to get spanked, Kanaya. What should I do?" John asked in a small voice. Kanaya sighed softly. 

"I feel a great amount of sympathy for you. However, I believe it is too late for you to not receive this punishment." John's thoughts flashed through his mind. He thought that perhaps it wouldn't hurt to run after Roxy and try to escape with her after all. Very little logical was used in his sudden decision to abruptly flail his limbs until Kanaya dropped him. He sprinted in the opposite direction of the tall woman, having no destination and simply wanting to get away. 

Kanaya was after him in a flash, calling his name and reaching for him. John's eyes watered with desperation as his heart pounded in his chest. He wasn't very fast, and Kanaya's athletic ability surpassed John's by a landslide, but by sheer determination, John was able to stay ahead of Kanaya for about ten minutes. 

He was hot and sweaty as he ran through the dark neighborhood in nothing but a pair of boxers. He came to an abrupt halt when he saw Dave standing in front of him. He shook with fear and backed away. Kanaya grabbed his arms and pinned them behind his back. John yelped and tried to run to the side only to be blocked by Rose. His hands were tied before he could look to the other side. 

He kicked his legs at Dave and squirmed to get away from Kanaya. Dave sighed and wrapped his long, slender arms around John's small frame. He pulled him close to himself, engulfing him in his warmth. John screamed and tried to push Dave away but couldn't move his arms. He cried out in frustration and aimlessly kicked at Dave's legs. He didn't fight when he was originally captured, and this was going to be different. 

"Stop! Let me go!" he screamed as he tried to desperately pull away, but Dave was simply too strong. Rose, Kanaya, and Dave were all talking to him in soft, gentle voices, but John blocked them out as he tried to get away. Rose grabbed his legs from behind and tied his ankles together. John screamed at the top of his lungs as he was lifted off the ground and swept into Dave's arms like a bride. 

He didn't know when he had started crying. Had it only started when Dave hugged him, or had he started once Roxy left? He didn't know, and at the moment, he didn't really care. He missed his old room. He missed his old movie posters that were covered with dust and ripping at the corners. He missed his ghost busters bedsheets that he had owned since he was ten.

He missed the nice people who sat with him at lunch, and the pretty girl that had let him kiss her behind the bleachers during gym class. He missed his locker, his binder, being sure of his sexuality, but most of all, he just missed his old life. He missed having a proper citizenship and the full rights of an American citizen. He sobbed as he flailed around tiredly in Dave's arms. 

"I want to go home," he sobbed, tears streaming down his cheeks along with snot. He kept repeating the same line over and over, ignoring the words of the people around him and focusing on what he wanted so desperately. "Take me home."


	8. Chapter 8

John eventually grew too tired to struggle and just sobbed on Dave, hiding his face against his chest as Dave walked them back to the apartment. 

"Shh, it's okay. We're home now. We're home," Dave said softly to the sobbing boy in his arms. John's begging morphed into incomprehensible slurs of vowels. Dave brought him inside with Rose and Kanaya following along behind them. He sat down on the bed and rocked John slowly in his arms. 

"What are you going to do?" Kanaya asked. Dave shook his head. 

"I'll get more chains I guess, maybe a long one, so he can go to the bathroom but can't leave the house," he said over John's choked sounds of sadness. 

"Do you really think that will work? He's just going to escape again," Rose said. Dave shrugged. 

"There's not a lot I can do here, Rose." 

"I don't mean to tell you how to train your slave, but I believe some sort of punishment is in order," Rose stated. 

"He's already crying his eyes out. Punishing him isn't going to help anything," Dave said defensively.

"He's only crying because he feels bad for himself." 

"Can you really blame him?" Dave asked. John's crying settled down to soft whimpering. The three watched the short boy in Dave's arms in silence until finally, Dave spoke once more. "Could you buy me a chain and a collar for John? I'll pay you back later. I just don't want to leave him." Rose nodded. 

"Sure, Kanaya and I will not be gone long." 

"Thanks." The two girls left. Dave kissed John's soft, dark hair. This calmed the smaller male. He looked up at the blonde with cheeks moistened with tears. Dave grabbed a tissue and gently wiped his tears away. "It's okay, John. It's okay." John remained silent and sniffled before resting his head against Dave's chest, his eyes on the other's shades. Silence hung in the air for a while, a silence that was thick and ached deep inside John's chest. 

He was too comfortable. He felt too content and borderline happy in Dave's arms. He wanted to feel angry in response to being held by his captor, but he didn't. He felt just the opposite. His conversation with Roxy had opened his eyes and made him realize that his feelings for Dave were not normal for those in his position. In fact, his feelings for Dave were not even that of friendship. Roxy was his friend, and he enjoyed talking to her as well as being by her side. John liked talking to Dave, but he felt a weight that he didn't even know existed in his chest lift when they spoke.

He enjoyed simply looking at Dave, his silky blonde hair styled with gel to sweep above his eyes and tuck loosely behind his ear, his crimson eyes that held a piercing color unable to look away from but still somehow glistened with light and joy. John counted the light freckles scattered across Dave's pale cheeks in irritation. He enjoyed the soothing warmth that radiated off of Dave's body and the safe, enclosed feeling he was filled with at being held so tightly. 

He loved the taller male's pearly white teeth and thin lips that felt so soft on his skin. Dave's face was distinctly softer than the skin on his calloused hands and arms. His facial features were caught somewhere between feminine and masculine regardless of the aura of masculinity that surrounded the male. John wanted to push his lips against Dave's and give into the softness and sweetness that he felt from him. He wanted Dave to touch him everywhere and allow him to do the same to the other. He longed for their bodies to touch and for the two of them to speak about everything and anything. He enjoyed everything about Dave, his captor. John's bottom lip quivered once more. Dave kissed John's forehead softly. 

"Shush, it's alright," he said. John's heart pounded at the sound of Dave's low voice. He felt too comfortable. He felt too content. 

"I hate you," John whispered suddenly. Dave froze in place. John repeated his words a little louder. "I hate you." Dave lowered his head. "I hate you so fucking much." His voice quivered with sadness. John crawled out of Dave's arms and was met with no resistance. He laid on his side, facing away from Dave and curled into himself. He hugged himself, missing Dave's warm touch and soft kisses. 

Dave gently and slowly laid a blanket over John's smaller form. He pulled it up to John's neck and then moved his hands away. John sniffled, earning a box of tissues pushed his way. He already regretted his words. He didn't hate Dave. He loved him, and he hated himself for that fact. He remained silent as time passed slowly. Rose and Kanaya came back to the apartment after what felt like an eternity to John. 

The two had purchased two collars specialized for slaves and soft handcuffs. John remained silent and still as Rose handed the items to Dave. Dave thanked both of them, and then they left. Dave walked over to John with a black and gray collar in his hand. He stood in front of him, expressionless. He wrapped a long arm around John's waist and held his shoulders with the other as he pulled him into a sitting position. John didn't resist and moved along with the touches. He hoped he would be untied soon. 

"Hate to do this, but I gotta. Don't move, okay?" Dave said softly as he pulled out a collar. John's eyes widened for only a moment before he looked back at the floor. The collar was thick, black leather with soft, gray, silky fabric on the inside. The front of the collar was not connected and was easily pulled around John's neck. There were two holes on the front of the collar that Dave pulled a lock through.

"Is this okay? Does it hurt?" John shook his head at both questions with a stern expression. He glared up at Dave with tears in his eyes as the blonde clicked the lock into place. Dave brushed a strand of John's hair behind his ear. "Don't think of it as a collar. Imagine it's your uh, necklace." John rolled his moist eyes. "Oh, come on, it's not that bad." John remained silent. Dave grabbed a chain and attached one end to John's collar, the other to the bed. 

He untied John's hands and then feet. He seemed interested in his feet and suddenly lowered down in front of John and gently grabbed one of his thin ankles. His once white socks were gray and black with dirt. Little, sharp pebbles were stuck in between the ripped sock and John's blistered, bleeding skin. Dave swallowed thickly as he very carefully pulled off John's sock. John's face contorted with pain as more blood seeped down to the palm of his foot. 

"Shit," Dave swore under his breath as he hurried away from John to the bathroom. John bit his bottom lip, hoping that Dave wasn't mad at him. The blonde speedily walked back into the room with a first aid kit, a small bowl of warm water, and paper towels. He kneeled in front of John and wet the paper towel before gently cleaning John's foot. John immediately hissed in pain and tried to move away from Dave. Dave held him in place and shushed him. 

He gently plucked out the pebbles and then sprayed his foot with a disinfectant. John winced and struggled more. It stung considerably, and John didn't want Dave to help him anymore. He felt pathetic in front of him and just wanted to curl into a ball and hide. His foot was gently wrapped with soft gauze before Dave moved to his other and began to repeat the process. John wanted to cry more, but he was out of tears to shed. His blue eyes coated in little, red lines analyzed the floor.

When Dave finally finished, he pulled away from John and put everything away. John curled up on his side in a ball and faced the wall. Dave returned to the room and changed into pajama pants before picking out some soft, worn-out clothes for John to sleep in. He walked over to John with a pair of jogging pants and a yellow T-shirt in his arms. 

"Here, you'll sleep better with some clothes on," he said. John shook his head. Dave sighed and then sat next to him. "John, it's okay. You can sleep afterwards, just please-" John snatched the clothes out of Dave's hands and then sat up. He pulled on the pants and then started to pull on the shirt, only to struggle with the collar. He gave up and threw the shirt back to Dave angrily. "Shit, I'm sorry." John huffed and then laid back in his original position, facing away from Dave. Dave put away the shirt and then laid down on the bed, giving John lots of space. 

"We can go shopping tomorrow and get you your own clothes. We just have to make sure the shirts button up in the front. I bet you look nice in plaid, like a femme lesbian too shy to wear anything extravagant. You have to keep looking manly to let the girls know that yeah, you're into them. Want some? I bet you do. Hell yeah, that'd be you. I'll let you pick out whatever clothes you want, okay?" John didn't respond. "If you can't pick anything, that's fine. I'll just choose for you. I won't force you to pick somethin' or any shit like that. That'd be some communist bullshit right there. Do you have a favorite clothing store? We can go there if you want. I get that you probably don't know the area, but there's a shit ton of super stores or whatever you call them. The ones that are all over? Chains, right? If you have a favorite store like that, you know, Aeropostale or Hollister or whatever, we can go there." 

John took off his glasses and folded them before setting them on his nightstand. He pulled the blanket up over his shoulders and closed his eyes, ignoring Dave without a word. Dave rolled onto his side, facing John, and stared at the boy. John squeezed his eyes further closed, hoping Dave wouldn't say anything else. His hopes were in vain. 

"Earth to John? Are you there? I asked you a question. Huston, we have a problem. The adorable shirtless boy is not responding." Silence engulfed the two. Dave's voice softened considerably as if talking to a hurt puppy. "Hey, John, I'm not mad at you. I get why you'd want to run away, but you really can't do that. You're my slave now. I kind of own you. You can't just leave." John pulled the blanket up over his head. Dave frowned. "Goodnight, John." The blonde rolled over with a soft huff.

John forced himself to stay awake for the next few hours. Once Dave's breathing had finally evened out, John slowly sat up. He looked over at Dave curiously. His lips were parted slightly, and his slender but toned form was curled in subtly. John noted that he was fast asleep and then carefully moved off the bed. He tiptoed to Dave's side of the bed and glanced over at his nightstand. 

John saw that there were Dave's sunglasses, a box of tissues, and a small book on the table. He looked at the little book with curiosity and then picked it up. The book was relatively old with a cracked spine and tearing corners. The title was 'Taking Care of Your Untrained Sex Slave'. The words were written in a pink bubble font. Below the words was a picture of two cartoon bunnies. One had a collar around its neck. John hesitantly opened the book, worried about what was underneath the strange cover.

'T.U.S.S. for Trained and Untrained Sex Slaves' was written on a sticker in the top left corner of the inside cover. The first page was the table of contents. It read,

'Introduction (pg. 1)  
Helping Your Slave Adjust (pg. 4)  
Intercourse and Consent (pg. 10)  
Clothing and Entertaining Your Slave (pg. 25)  
Punishment (pg. 35)  
Health (pg. 46)  
Quick Tips (pg. 87-100)' 

John swallowed and quickly flipped to page ten. He turned to page nine and became confused. Pages ten to twenty-five were missing. They had been ripped out. John turned to page thirty-five and skimmed the content. The book suggested time-outs, spankings, and long talks for discipline. He was confused at first as to how speaking with someone for an extended amount of time was punishment, but the book explained that most of the time slaves only disobeyed because they were upset or didn't understand, and punishment wasn't necessary. 

John sighed softly as he closed the book. He wasn't sure what he had expected from the small, useless book. He couldn't believe Dave was actually reading that. He hoped he wasn't taking it seriously. When he moved his hand to put the book down, he saw it, a milky white cellphone. John picked it up desperately and then set down the book down, all his attention quickly fixing on the piece of expensive technology in his hand.

He turned it on and squinted as a bright, blue light emerged from the screen. He walked to the bathroom, trying to focus on the screen and get away from Dave. He hoped the light wouldn't wake him. He closed the door behind himself in the bathroom and leaned against it. He opened the dial pad on the phone and then quickly dialed his dad's old phone number that he had memorized back when he was just six years old. He pressed the call button and then held the phone up to his ear. He listened to it ring for a while, but just when he thought that it would go to voicemail, he heard a click on the other end.

"Hello?" A tired voice asked. 

"Susan, I can't talk long, but there's a change of plans," John said in an eager voice. Susan yawned loudly.

"Why? What's the problem, John?" She asked.

"Things changed for me. Dave really hammered down on the rules here. I don't know if I'll be able to leave at all now, but I have this friend that really needs to escape. She had it really bad, and she kept getting hurt, so I gave her my money. She's on her way to California now. I-"

"John, slow down, please. Who's Dave, and what do you mean you can't escape?" 

"Dave's my...my um, owner. Yeah... I saw my friend earlier and ran after her, but Dave thought I was trying to escape, so now, I kind of have a fucking collar around my neck." Susan was quiet for a moment. 

"Okay, that's just a small back step. I can still help you escape. Don't you worry, John. I won't leave you with this Dave bastard." 

"It's really not that bad here. I mean, at least compared to how Roxy has it, or had it. Her owner abused her and raped her. She really needs help."

"You're James' son, Roxy isn't. I want to help you."

"You can't anymore. Just-please, help out Roxy instead. She needs your help."

"I'm not going to help out some stranger. This is a serious, illegal task that's also super expensive. I'm not going to just waste it on someone random."

"Trust me. Roxy's worth it. She really is. You'll love her, and she deserves so much more than what she has now." 

"I don't know. What did she do?"

"What do you mean?"

"How did she end up a slave?"

"She was a thief."

"You want me to save a thief."

"She's a good person, really! Her family didn't have a lot of money, and things just...weren't too good for her. She only stole alcohol a few times when she couldn't get it." Roxy had vowed to never drink again once she was out of jail. She had opened up to Jane and John and spilled her heart out to the two when telling her story.

"I am not helping a drunk. What if she steals from me?" John rolled his eyes irritably. 

"John?" Dave's voice asked tiredly. The doorknob turned rather quickly along with a push of the door. John pushed himself back against the door. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He needed to get Roxy to safety. 

"Please, I'm begging you!" John cried. Dave pushed harder against the door.

"Woah, calm down, no need to shout. I'll think about it." 

"John, who are you talking to? Get out of there," Dave ordered. John was using all of his strength to keep the door shut.

"No! You can't just think about it! You have to!" John shouted, his voice shrill and desperate. He was suddenly thrown forward as the door swung open. Dave marched into the room and ripped the phone out of John's hand. 

"Who are you?" Dave asked emotionlessly. His face tightened in anger and then softened suddenly as he pulled the phone away from his ear. He looked back to John who was shaking and cowering away from him. "Who was that?" John shook his head quickly, trying to back against the wall. The chain stopped him as the collar pulled on his neck and nearly choked him. Dave walked closer to John and reached his hand out towards him.

"Hey, you're not in trouble. Just talk to me, John. Who did you call?" John remained silent and squinted up at him angrily, trying to cover his fear with anger. Dave rolled his shiny with sleep, red eyes and reached his hand out closer to John. "Come on, let's lay back down." John reluctantly took Dave's hand, still warm and soft from sleep and walked with him slowly to the bed, trying not to put too much weight on his aching feet. Dave set down his phone and stood by the bed, looking at John. John let go of his hand and then laid down under the warm covers. He pulled them up to his shoulders and then rolled over to face the wall. 

Dave pulled an ankle cuff and chain out of the closet and locked it to the bed. John buried his head in his pillow, the sound of the chain all too familiar. Dave moved the blanket off of John's lower half and gently grabbed his ankle before locking the cuff around it. He examined the bottom of raven-haired male's foot. He carefully tightened the bandage wrap and then set down his foot. 

"There you go," he said softly as he laid the blanket back over John. "Won't be calling anyone else today now." He laid down beside John on the bed and yawned before rolling on his side. "Goodnight, John." John didn't respond to his words and curled into himself as much as he could without touching the strong blonde next to him. He fell asleep soon enough and dreamt of those strong arms around him.


	9. Silence

Dave's alarm clock went off in the morning, and jeez, how John had grown to hate that sound. The irritated short man rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling with a sour face. He finally sighed in relaxation when the alarm was turned off. He rolled over again onto his side, expecting Dave to be out of the bed, but instead, his small nose bumped the blonde's hip. Dave looked behind himself with his eyebrows raised. 

John blushed darkly and scooted back as far as he could. Dave smirked at him and then stood up. He walked to the bathroom and began his shower. John didn't get up. Instead, he simply laid in the bed and stared at the bathroom door. Dave stepped out of the shower not long later with wet hair and a fluffy towel wrapped around his waist. John stared at him with blank eyes as he removed his towel. 

"Gettin' an eye-full, are you?" Dave teased. John sighed and looked away as Dave dressed. "You don't have to embarrassed. I mean, damn, have you seen me? I am a walking flame, so hot you'll burn yourself by standing too close. Back up, kids, we got a looker over here." Dave walked over to John, fully dressed.

"Are you ready for your bath?" He asked, hovering over John. John shook his head and pulled the blanket up over his face. Dave chuckled and sat down next to him. "Come on, don't be like this." The blonde sighed softly. "Talk to me. Just tell me what's wrong." Dave's request made John's veins burn with anger. He could write a ten page essay as to what was wrong. He abruptly pulled the blanket down and glared up at Dave. 

"What's wrong?" Dave repeated. Dave held his breath as he stared at the dark-haired male. 

"You wouldn't understand," John spat.

"Try me," Dave said softly. John rolled his eyes. Dave gently took one of John's hands and held it in both of his. John shook his head and sat up. Dave let go of his hand and undid John's ankle cuff. John sighed in relief. He hated that thing. He stood and peeled off his pants and underwear. His blue eyes glared daggers into Dave's before he walked to the bathroom. 

John sat in the warm bath water and looked up at Dave. The blonde walked into the room and crouched down in front of the shorter male. He picked up a cup, and John stared at it with distaste as it filled with water. John closed his eyes on command. Dave soaked his dark locks with the warm water. John's eyes remained squeezed shut the entire bath, especially as Dave carefully cleaned around his collar and the chain.

After he was dried and dressed, Dave attached a shorter chain to John's collar and locked it to his belt, keeping the two of them together. He walked to the kitchen and searched through his drawers until he found an envelope that was strangely familiar to John. His eyebrows rose as he opened it.

"What the hell?" He exclaimed. "My savings are gone. Dammit, now how am I supposed to buy your clothes?" John looked away. He should have known Dave would notice the absence of the money sooner. "John, you..." John froze in place, fear coming in waves through his being. "You don't know what happened to the money, do you?" John shook his head, not making eye-contact with Dave. He felt hot shards of glass burn down his thighs to his toes.

"Holy shit, you stole it, didn't you?" Dave accused. John pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth. "What the hell did you buy with it? Holy fuck, does this have to do with your clothes mysteriously disappearing last night? What, did you settle some kind of deal with someone or something?" Dave's tone suddenly dropped to gentle whisper. "Wait, don't tell me you made a deal to escape, but...they stole your clothes and took your money. John, you need to explain yourself." John's buck teeth dug into his lip in fear. Blood trickled down past his lip as he shook. Dave's jaw dropped. He very gently wrapped his arms around the terrified boy. 

"Shush, it's alright. I forgive you. I guess I'll just buy you less than I wanted to... Just stay with me, and I'll make sure no one ever touches you like that again, okay?" John nodded and hugged him back, burying his face in Dave's warm chest. Dave gently rubbed his back with a small sigh. "You just need to talk to me, John. I'm your owner. I care about you. I really do." John lifted his head and touched his bleeding lip. 

"I'll get the first aid kit," he said before hurrying to the bathroom. John clung to him and followed him, the chain still keeping them together. "Shit, sorry." Dave pulled out the first aid kit. He gently cleaned the male's plump and red bottom lip. "Better?" John nodded. "Try not to bite your lip again." John nodded once more. Dave extended his hand to which John immediately took.

Dave walked him to a mall and took him to the men's shirts section. He walked him to the pants section first and looked at skinny jeans without giving even a glance at the other aisles. He turned to John and looked over him for a moment. John looked back at him with wide, blue eyes. He had never worn skinny jeans before and didn't want to start now. He had always thought that they would look strange on himself and be horribly uncomfortable.

"What size do you wear?" Dave asked. John turned away from him and pulled him to different section in the store where there were loose-fitting jeans. He picked up a pair in his size and handed them to Dave. The blonde sighed and looked over them. "These, really?" John nodded. Dave shrugged and grabbed a second pair. He guided him to the shorts section next. John happily picked out a couple khaki shorts with way more pockets than he would ever need. 

"Now to the lesbian section," Dave mumbled as he walked John to where the flannels were. He picked out an orange, plaid flannel and held it up on John's chest. "Hmm, no. Not your color." He put it back and pulled out a blue one. He held it up on John and stared at him for quite a while before shoving it under his arm and grabbing a few more random blue shirts. He tossed them to John who hastily caught them as he walked to the dressing room. 

"Excuse me, sir," a pretty, young woman with a pink stripe in her hair called to Dave. He turned his head a little. 

"What?"

"We have a section for slaves in the back," she said. John's eyes pinked with a mixture of sadness and fear. He liked the clothes he had picked out and didn't want to wear special clothing for slaves. He had heard that clothing for slaves were usually loose-fitting and very short. They often had zippers and buttons in strange places for easier access, and the design of the clothes overall looked rather provocative. He trembled slightly and scooted closer to Dave. 

"That's okay. My slave only wears the most fashionable shit," Dave said with a smirk. John sighed in relief. Dave led him into the small dressing room and walked in with him. He closed and locked the door behind them before leaning against it. He handed John the clothes. The dark haired male took them and stared at them for a moment before looking up at Dave. "I just wanna make sure they fit. Try them on." 

John gestured for Dave to turn away. Dave shook his head. John frowned and looked at the ground for a moment. Dave had already seen him naked many times, but he was still embarrassed to strip in front of him in such a small space. He hesitantly took off his jeans and pulled on the new pair. They fit perfectly, and John thought they were comfortable. He smiled softly and looked at himself in the mirror. He put on the blue flannel next and posed subtly. It felt amazing to wear clothes in his size again. 

"You're beautiful, you know," Dave muttered. John smiled and looked to the side, flattered. "I've never seen anyone so beautiful. You know how rare it is to have blue eyes and black hair. It looks so damn hot on you." Dave's silky and kind words made John's vision grow blurry as his imagination ran wild. His eyes closed as the world around became shiny with colors of red and gold, the scent of apples and cologne taking him over. He sighed softly as he leaned against the wall of soft warmth behind him. Long arms covered in dark, cotton cloth pulled the dreamy eyed boy against that amazing enclosure of heat and pleasant scents. Two matching pools of blue framed by prescription glass rolled to the side, glazed with fantasy. 

Skilled, long fingers trailed down the newly made, freshly ironed fabric. Buck, white teeth pulled back a dark pink bottom lip as pastel peachy lips pressed against hot skin just underneath the raven-haired male's ear. Those familiar lips tightened around the heated, pale skin and applied pressure to the patch of sensitivity John was cursed with. Burning moisture wetted his skin before it was blown on, freezing the salvia as it rolled down his neck. 

"Oh, god," John panted out, his knees already giving out from underneath him. Strong arms hugged him closer, supporting him and keeping him from falling to the floor. One curious arm slid up the smooth fabric to the top of his shirt collar and played with a clear button. Oceans of blue swam forward, staring intently at the reflection of the two thin males shoved together. He saw himself and his own expression, blurry and dazed. The button was undone, making a small chest heave as he waited, yearning to be touched more. 

The clink of metal rang in John's ears as his silky yet sturdy collar fell to the floor. He stared down at it, overwhelmed with the freedom of having it off. Pillows of heat landed on the newly exposed area and attacked him once more with amazingly pleasant waves of tightness all over him. A second button was undone as a hand slipped under the fabric, skin touching skin. His finger tips trailed to a pink nub of flesh and rubbed a small circle around it, building heat. Hot air rolled out of John's mouth as the hard skin was squeezed. 

"Dave," was the name that fell from the man's mouth, the sound bending in the air as it blended with the overwhelming pleasure taking him. This rewarded him with three more buttons being released, leaving his entire chest exposed. He was fully erect already, his mind full of ringing and Dave. A hand made its way onto the top of John's crotch, over his jeans. The dark-haired man bucked his hips up into his hand, letting out a desperate gasp. 

He whined as long fingers tightened around his clothed length, leaving him with a painfully strong desire to feel their bare skin touching everywhere. His hands hurried to Dave's, quickly unbuttoning his jeans and then pulling them down along with his tight underwear. Dave's lips quirked up at one corner against John's skin. John whimpered as he moved Dave's hand to his erection. 

"Please, Dave," he begged. Thick fingers wrapped around John's length and began to pump him slowly. "Oh, god, yes! Please, please." He sighed in pleasure as his length received more and more friction. He choked out a moan when a hot tongue licked along the side of his neck. His spheres of blue rolled back in his head as his stomach knotted and his muscles tightened. 

"You're so gorgeous," Dave whispered in his ear, making John's cheeks flush dark. His hand tightened around John's base before slowly sliding up to his tip. His thumb pushed around the tip, causing a white substance to leak out of the tiny hole. More whimpers poured out of his mouth as the technique changed, bringing him nearly over the edge.

"Dave, I can't-" A squeaky voice, high with nervousness began to warn. 

"Come for me, John," A low, husky voice whispered in his ear, cutting him off. John's toes curled as his vision turned white at the edges. "Damn, Joh-"

"John?" Dave's concerned voice snapped the short male out of his fantasy. He jumped slightly and looked over to Dave, who stood in the corner of the small dressing room. "Are you feeling okay? Your face is all red." The comment only made his face flush more. The hand he had dreamt of was placed delicately on his heated cheek. "You feel warm." John looked down, not wanting Dave to look at him after such an erotic and embarrassing fantasy. 

Dave watched him for a little longer before pulling his hand away. He sighed with irritation and then handed John his original outfit. The dark-haired male looked down at the clothes and swallowed, growing nervous all over again. He slowly took off his shirt and then his pants before hurrying back into the original clothes. He huffed tiredly when he was back into them, feeling a bit relieved. 

Dave reattached the chain to John's collar and then led him out of the small dressing room. John took his hand and interlaced their fingers together. Dave bought him the clothes and then guided him back to the apartment. When John reached for the bags, Dave moved them away from his sight. This strongly bothered John. He wasn't going to ruin them or take off with them. He just wanted to help Dave carry them. They were supposed to be his clothes after all. He was sat on the bed when they arrived home. Dave pulled out a thermometer and held it up to John's small mouth.

"Open up," he said. John rolled his eyes. He was horny and embarrassed, not sick. Regardless, he opened his mouth, allowing Dave to place the thermometer under his tongue. He closed his month and stared at the blonde's jawline as he waited for it take his temperature. A small beep rang through the room, signaling Dave to remove it. He did, gently, and looked at the number on the end of the white stick. 

"98.7. Well, that's normal," he said casually. He put the thermometer away before sitting back down on the bed and opening up his arms. "Come here." John nodded slowly and obediently crawled into his lap. Dave pulled him close against his chest, surrounding John with warmth and the sound of a beating heart. He was silent for a while, just holding John and occasionally petting his hair.

John didn't want to admit it, but he loved it when Dave held him like that. He took deep breaths, obviously relaxed and comfortable in this position. Dave's hand stopped moving in his hair. He rubbed his head against Dave's hand while looking at the bed, trying to subtly signal him to keep going. There was no way he would vocalize to Dave that he wanted him to play with his hair. 

This action must have worked, for Dave's fingers twisted and twirled John's dark locks of hair. He rested his head against his chest completely now, relaxing all his muscles and just sinking into the kind man that held him. His hands were curled up to his chest, resting against Dave's cotton shirt. His eyes drooped with tiredness as he considered sleep. 

"I'm worried about you, you know," Dave admitted. John frowned and squeezed his eyes shut. He prayed to the lord and savior he had been taught to pray to that Dave hadn't realized his feelings for him. "Why aren't you saying anything?" John didn't respond to this and just sunk down lower in Dave's arms. "Does your throat hurt?" He shook his head. Dave was quiet for a while after that, leaving John with many questions of his own.

The blue-eyed boy looked back up at Dave and examined his flawless features. His blonde eyebrows were furrowed as if in thought, and his lips were pursed together. John reached his hands up to the sides of Dave's sunglasses, wanting to read the emotions held within his candy red eyes. A strong hand caught his, startling him and causing him to flinch. His eyebrows and lips tightened into a desperate expression. 

"John, please, just say something." Dave let go of John's wrist and allowed him to take off his sunglasses. He folded them neatly and placed them next to Dave's hip on the bed. He looked up to Dave's newly exposed eyes. The blankest blue met the most meaningful maroon, but not a word was spoken. 

Days passed, and nothing changed. John refused to speak to Dave, leaving the blonde male irritated at first. He had threatened to take him to therapy at the beginning to which John rolled his eyes and huffed, not caring whether or not he was forced to go to therapy. He wouldn't have said anything to the therapist anyways. He reasoned that there was nothing left to say. He couldn't vote, publish writings, or even express his opinion without being suppressed somehow whether it be from the law or from Dave. 

John knew Dave didn't care what he thought or how he felt. No matter how many times Dave begged and pleaded to John to speak, he ignored him and kept his mouth closed. He just couldn't bring himself to say anything when everything he said and did was so meaningless. His silence seemed to draw Dave closer. He was held a lot more often and was left alone much less. While Dave was in class, Rose would come over for a couple hours and talk to him to keep him company.

John was an excellent listener. Even if he never responded or gave any advice, with those big blue eyes staring those of the speaker and a nod or two, the person who spoke to him felt fully engaged in conversation. Rose seemed to love talking to him. Her bright, violet eyes would light with expression as she told him funny stories about herself and Kanaya. John would smile as she spoke. 

He liked the silly story she would tell about Kanaya's first time dancing informally. The two took a formal ballroom dancing course, and according to Rose, Kanaya was an expert! She mastered each step with ease and left Rose clumsily clinging to her and struggling to keep up. Because of this, Rose assumed that dancing informally would come with just as much ease to the fair female. 

She was quickly proven wrong when Kanaya became a nervous wreck on the dance floor. She trembled in the bright lights and held onto Rose, claiming that she would not do well if she were to dance at the current time. Rose simply kissed her lips, their matching black lipstick mixing with each other's. This calmed Kanaya's nerves a bit as they held hands and swayed their hips back and forth. 

This time it was Kanaya that tripped over her own two feet and clung to Rose. Rose laughed as she told this story, and John's little smile wouldn't fade, interest sparkling in his eyes. His favorite stories had to be the ones she told about Dave. John would always get excited when she began to tell these stories. Learning about how his owner acted as a child interested him beyond belief. 

When Rose first started talking about Dave as a child, John expected to hear about his silliness and childlike tendencies, but these stories were few and far between. According to Rose, Dave was stone-faced as a child. He was often teased by the other students on the playground for his eyes. That's why he always wore sunglasses. His older brother also wasn't the best guardian. Rose didn't know the exact details, but when Dave was only four years old, he had an affixation with being a knight. He used to tie a bed sheet around his neck and walk around the apartment speaking in a proper voice. 

He would place these little dolls that his brother had in high places and pretend they were princesses. He would pretend to rescue them after rolling along the floor and hitting pillows, claiming that they were monsters. He would stand on the high place where he had placed the small doll and claim,

"I am the Knight of Time!" John loved this story because of how adorable Rose had made Dave sound. It was a sharp contrast to all the other stories she had told. However, the story quickly took a turn when Dave's brother took his obsession with knights to the next level by buying him a real, full-sized sword. Dave, of course, was excited with this gift. He run through the house with it and swung his sword around to ward off make-believe dragons and creatures. 

One day when he was playing, he dropped his sword as he swung it, resulting in him cutting his thigh. Blood had poured down the four-year-old's leg as he realized just how dangerous the weapon really was. His brother laughed at him as he drove him to the hospital, claiming that he should have known the dangers of the sword. He lied to the doctors by telling him that Dave had fallen down the stairs. 

The doctors accepted his made-up story and quickly patched up Dave. Rose said that he should still have a scar on his thigh where he had been cut, but it would be significantly small as it happened several years ago. As Rose's different stories about the Striders came together, he realized that the dolls Dave had been playing with were smuppets, puppets that his older brother had sold and used in his pornography films. John was disgusted by Dave's older brother. He was convinced that he was abusive to Dave and all in all, a horrible person. 

Dave came home from work that weekend with his blonde hair messy from wearing headphones for so long. John had been laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling with his head on the end of the bed. His long hair was flared out on the blanket, and his eyes were squinted in thought. Dave walked up to him with a sour expression. 

"Goddammit! I can't fucking believe this shit!" He shouted angrily. John looked up at him with concern. Dave looked back at John and sighed. "I'm sorry for shouting. It's just- Jade won't answer my calls again. No matter how many times Rose or I call her, she just ignores us. I'm so worried about her. The last time I saw her, she was underweight and had heavy bags under her eyes. I don't know what's going on with her." John rolled over and sat up. 

"It's that new friend group of hers. They're total jerks, and none of them have jobs. I have no idea how they even pay for rent. Rose and I are much better friends than them. Why can't she just see that?" John shrugged and frowned. "And now New Years is coming up. Bro is insisting that I come over for the night, but I don't have a car. That means that Rose, Kanaya, you, and I are all going to be stuck in a car together for a two hour drive." John looked down and swallowed thickly. He did not want to meet Dave's brother one bit, but he had to admit that leaving the house sounded nice. 

"It shouldn't be too bad for you, you know. You'll get to meet my brother," Dave said as he sat next to John. He wrapped his arm around the smaller male's shoulders and rubbed his arm. "He's a total asshole, but it shouldn't be too bad with Rose around. He's always been softer on her. You okay? You look a little nervous." John nodded and leaned into his touch. 

"Don't worry about a thing, John. As long as you stay right by my side, Bro should leave you alone. Let's just hope he doesn't fuck his slave in front of everyone like last time."


	10. Happy New Year!

It was a clear, cool night when John, Dave, Rose, and Kanaya drove to Dave's older brother's home. John had slept the whole way, leaning on Dave contently. It felt like forever but yet too soon when their car finally arrived at their destination. He was guided out of the car with Dave and held onto his hand tightly. The two ladies walked up to the door hesitantly. 

As the door opened, John could feel his heart dropping down into his stomach where it quickly burned in a pool of stomach acid. Blue met all the colors of the deepest, most beautiful forest, and he swore he had never seen anything so revolting. A circle of vibrant emerald shone with so many different shades of green that one could spend hours upon hours studying each small shape and shining line in those amazing eyes. John found himself doing just that but not out of admiration but out of curiosity, for he wondered just how eyes full of such depth could hold such a pure emotion... Of fear.

Those oval-shaped eyes were wide as they met John's. The man's entire eye shone with a clear coat of tears that were far from falling. He swallowed bile and stood close to the door, obviously trying to hide himself as much as possible. Two black triangles of fuzz stuck out of his mess of dark hair. His collar lacked a chain and had a lace trim obviously made from cheap material that didn't look the most comfortable. 

"W-welcome, everyone," he said in a stuttered and quiet voice with a subtle trace of a British accent underneath his words. "C-come in." John clung closer to Dave. He would have knocked him over if Dave wasn't so tall and sturdy. The blonde rubbed John's shoulder and forced him inside the funhouse of his memories. The green-eyed male guided them towards the living room, a single bell on his collar jingling. His clothing was very provocative and made John rather uncomfortable. 

Tall, exposed legs sat on the couch, causing black, jean shorts to ride up even more. A fuzzy tail stuck out from underneath his shorts. His cheeks were deeply flushed as he covered his exposed chest with his arms. He told them to sit in a shaky voice and then rocked his hips back on the couch, causing the tail to wag. A set of footsteps were heard, and John's attention was immediately directed to a familiar blonde that brought back awful memories. 

"Evening, everybody," he spoked in a casual voice that held the strongest Southern accent John had ever heard. "Why aren't you sitting?" Rose and Kanaya smiled softly and took a seat. Dave did the same and gently pulled John along with him. "I thought for sure kitty would have done his job." Dave's brother moved his hand into his pocket and turned his head in the direction of the frightened male in a kitten outfit. He suddenly jumped and covered his mouth. The blonde snickered and sat next to him. 

"Dirk, I thought we had agreed that this visit would not include extravagant, live pornography," Rose commented, her violet eyes glued on the green-eyed male. Dirk smirked and pulled the trembling boy into his lap. 

"Oh, come on, I'm just having a little fun. Just look at little Jakey," he said as he grabbed Jake's cheeks. Jake flushed even more and panted softly, a small river of drool leaking out of his mouth. "He loves this." Green eyes rolled back in his head as he leaned against Dirk. Dave wrapped an arm around John's shoulders and pulled him closer to his side. John's eyes were locked on Jake and Dirk, trying to understand what was happening. "So how has your slave been, Dave?" John looked down suddenly at the mention of himself. 

"His name's John, and he's fine," Dave answered dully. 

"He seems a little quiet," the man with pointed sunglasses stated obviously. "He mute or somethin'?" 

"John hasn't been able to...talk for a while," he said hesitantly and slowly, working his way through each word. 

"He's been through a lot. Those slave institutions can break the more sensitive ones. He tried to escape once, and after his failed attempt, he's never been the same," Rose added. John tried not to listen to Rose's words, but he couldn't block them out. 

"It's the collar. He hates it," Dave muttered. John looked up at him. He knew he could clearly remember the last words he had said to him, and he wished the blonde would just take off his collar and let them restart everything. However, he knew that such wishful thinking was useless. 

"Wearing a collar made him stop talkin', huh? What a wimp. Have you even tried punishing him? That'd probably put 'em in his place," Dirk casually suggested. Jake heavily sighed and slumped into Dirk's arms, limp as a rag doll.

"I'm never going to hurt him," Dave firmly stated. Dirk leaned forward and adjusted his gray baseball hat. 

"And why not? If it's for his own good, he deserves it. He's just a slave, Dave." 

"Perhaps Dave's views on sex slaves contrast with yours?" Kanaya offered in an interested voice. 

"What I do with John is my business," Dave said with irritation clear as day in his voice. 

"I'm just worried that my lil' bro isn't using his birthday gift to his greatest potential. His paper work says they suspect him to be a virgin, both top and bottom, boys or girls," Dirk snidely commented. 

"I believe Dave is right. We shouldn't discuss the matters of how he and his slave behave together," Rose tried to bud in. 

"But this is partially my business, Rose. I bought John for Dave. I just wanna be a good brother and let him know that if he doesn't like him, he doesn't have to keep him." He smirked and delicately moved his calloused fingers through the trembling boy's dark hair. 

"What the hell are you implying?" Dave asked with bitterness on his tongue. 

"I'm saying that I paid good money for John. His body must be incredibly sensitive, and have you seen him naked? The kid's hairless and smooth as a baby. He's got great potential for a different owner. You put him in training for a couple months, and you can sell him for double the price I paid for him. I can ma-"

"I'm not getting rid of John. He's my slave, and that's final. We're not talking about him anymore. Got it?"

"Loud and clear, soldier." Dirk seemed amused by Dave's actions. John just clung tighter to Dave. He couldn't be separated from him. He was terrified of losing him. There was no way he could make it without Dave with him. He was so gentle and kind. He didn't want to take his chances again with a different owner. Dave pressed a gentle kiss to John's forehead and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. John gave a soft huff and secretly relished in the tiny kiss. "How have you and Kanaya been?"

"We've been alright. Lately, the two of us have gained an interest in discussing politics," Rose stated with calmness on her tone.

"Sounds boring as shit," Dirk deadpanned. 

"Perhaps to you, but some of us do care about the matters in which our country is indulging us in." 

"Sass dropped," Dave commented with a small smirk. 

"Why thank you, but I truly do believe that the people of this country should take a greater interest in politics, especially with the battling the president has us engaged in with Russia," Rose continued. 

"I do hope that we do not start a greater conflict with them. We have already put an embargo in place. I do believe that is enough to remove ourselves from their battle plans," Kanaya explained.

"I disagree. I believe this restriction on Russia's economic expansion will not deter their possible intentions but instead spark them," Rose argued. 

"I understand your reasoning, darling, however I must disagree." 

"Can we not talk politics?" Dave asked, all humor drained from his face. 

"I'm with Dave, y'all," Dirk agreed. 

"So be it then," Rose declared. "Are we going to watch the broadcasting of New York's Apple Drop this year?" 

"'Course, it's tradition," Dirk said simply. He grabbed a black remote and pointed it to the flat screen television in the center of the room. The screen turned on in stunning colors and high definition. A man and woman in their twenties were on the screen, wearing heavy layers of both clothing and make-up. They were smiling wide, showing off their perfectly straight, white teeth. The room grew silent as all attention was drawn to the television. 

"Oh, Chad, you are a card! Tell us. What's your new year's resolution for 2016?" The woman asked, her neat, blonde curls pressed tight against her rosy cheeks. Chad looked off to the side as he answered, 

"That's an easy one. I'm going to spend more time with my wife at home. She works long hours nowadays, and I don't spend enough time with her anymore." The woman seemed to gush at his words as she placed a mittened hand over her chest. 

"Oh, Chad! That's such a sweet resolution!" The woman responded. 

"I know, Glinda. My lovely wife spends so much time alone with the slave; it makes me jealous." Glinda laughed like a drunken schoolgirl. 

"Why that's the first time I've heard something like that! What's next? Are you jealous of the dog too?" Chad's lip twitched down for a fraction of a second, just long enough for John to catch the pain in those brown eyes on the inflated screen. The man laughed it off and faked a dazzling smile.

"What's your new year's resolution?" Chad asked. Glinda seemed excited that she had been asked a question. 

"To lose weight. I could always get in better shape," she stated simply. Dirk rolled his eyes. 

"She can't afford to lose any weight," he said with irritation on his voice. Rose nodded. 

"I agree," she stated. Jake suddenly jumped and whimpered. 

"Please, Dirk! I-I can't do this," he whined, holding onto Dirk's arm. 

"Relax," Dirk whispered to him. "You're doing fine." Jake shook his head, his cheeks bright red. He squirmed in his lap and whimpered more, digging his nails into Dirk's arm and squeezing his eyes shut. 

"Please!" He cried. Dirk abruptly stood up and grabbed Jake's arm. 

"That's it! I'm sorry, ya'll. I need to take care of my slave," he announced angrily. Jake whimpered and clung to Dirk. 

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm so sorry," he whispered to the blonde as he was dragged out of the room. He seemed to resist moving, trying to regain his footing and stay in the living room. "Please don't. I'm sorry." John's eyes were glued on the scene, scared and confused. Jake was dragged behind a wall, and Kanaya turned up the volume on the television. The music on the television could not drown out the cries and whimpers of Jake. 

Violet eyes switched between the different people in the room with concern. Dave shook his head and sighed. Kanaya kept her eyes on her floor while John's thin fingers clung to Dave's shirt. The blue eyed boy shivered and stared at Dave with anticipation. Surely Dave would have an explanation, right? He was wrong. He frowned up at the blonde, but the red eyed male just shook his head and sighed. 

"Relax, John. He's not gonna touch you," Dave whispered to John. This was not John's concern. He wanted to know what Dirk was doing to Jake, and curiosity was not a feeling John was not about to leave these feelings unquenched. A few minutes later, Jake emerged from the other room with a tray of food in his shaking hands. John instantly made eye contact with the other. Both of their eyes were wide with pain and fear. However, Jake's pain was more dull, as if he were used to all the tension that loomed over the room. Jake slowly approached John but quickly tore his eyes away to face Dave. 

"I brought snacks," he said in a soft voice, offering the tray to Dave. The blonde gave him a soft smile and grabbed a cracker. 

"Thanks, Jake," he replied. He gently rubbed John's arm. "You can have one too." John shook his head, eyes locked on Jake. He had lost his appetite. Jake offered food to the women, and both of them thanked him and grabbed a few slices of cheese. John looked around for Dirk, but he was nowhere in sight. He whimpered softly and patted Dave's stomach. Dave's expression lit up as he stared at John intently.

"What's wrong? It's okay. Talk to me," he spoke quietly. All eyes in the room were on John. The dark-haired male tensed and hid his face in Dave's chest. He didn't want to speak. They never seemed to care when John spoke before; what had changed? John contemplated these thoughts with bitterness as he clung to Dave. His forehead was kissed by his owner lovingly softly. "Shush, it's okay. You don't have to say anything." 

"Would you like to write it down? I could get you some paper," Rose suggested with an expression of concern holding her features. John shook his head. He hated all the sudden attention. He just wanted an explanation. Kanaya stood up. 

"I'll find him some paper just in case he changes his mind," she stated politely. Dave followed her to the kitchen.

"I think I know where it is," he said. John tried to reach for him, but he was out of sight before he could protest. He took in a deep breath and sunk into the couch. Rose turned to Jake. 

"Where has Dirk disappeared to?" She asked. Jake shrugged. He carefully set the tray down on the table before sitting down. His tail was gone, and he seemed relieved. 

"I don't know," he said. Rose scooted closer to Jake. She delicately placed a hand on his back and rubbed her hand over his bare back soothingly. 

"That's alright. I'll go look for him. Look after John for me, will you?" She whispered something into his ear. Jake nodded.

"Of course, Rose." He gave her a small flash of imperfect teeth in a tiny smile.

"Thank you." She ruffled Jake's hair before leaving the room. Jake stood up and sat down next to John. He smiled at him. 

"Hey there, John. How are you doing?" He asked. John leaned closer to the taller male and whispered in his ear,

"What did he do to you?" His voice was shaky and horse. Jake looked back at John with a blank expression. 

"You don't know?" John shook his head. Jake appeared to be annoyed. "I'm his sex slave. What do you think happened?" John shrugged. Jake placed a hand over his face. "How can you be so oblivious? I see the way you cling to Dave. You don't even seem a little afraid of him. You two act more like lovers than owner and slave. You need to start checking your privileges. Dave is kind to you. Hell, he must be so gentle with you that you can't even recognize when someone does it rough."

"Are you talking about sex? Uh, we don't actually... do that."

"What?" Jake appeared shocked. "How has he not-? Great dickens! He's definitely going to resell you. You can't let him do that! John, I was resold. This is my fourth owner. It's awful. After you're sold once, no one decent wants you anymore. You get way cheaper, and-"

"It's over here, Kanaya!" Dave shouted from the kitchen. 

"If you don't want a vibrator shoved up your ass during a New Years Eve party, don't get resold, and if you don't want resold, you need to start giving Dave what he really wants." Jake spoke faster and more frantically. 

"What does he want?" John asked in a soft voice, concern lacing through each word.

"To fuck you in the ass." John's eyes widened. He was about to ask more questions when Dave and Kanaya returned to the room.

"Hello, you two. Do you know where Rose and Dirk are?" Kanaya asked. Dave sat back down next to John and moved an arm around his shoulders. John sunk into his touch silently. 

"Rose left to look for Dirk," Jake answered. Dave handed John a notebook and a pen. John accepted them and held them to his chest. 

"Just write down whatever you want to say, okay?" Dave asked. John nodded before laying his head on Dave's chest. Dirk returned to the room with Rose. They were chatting with each other quietly. At the sight of Dirk, Jake scooted closer to John. 

"Y'know, John actually t-" he began to speak. 

"Jake, get over here," Dirk ordered. 

"Yes, sir!" Jake whimpered as he scurried back into Dirk's lap. He wrapped his arms around his neck affectionately and faked a smile. 

"Good boy," Dirk whispered to him before placing a gentle peck on his lips. Jake melted at the affection and leaned into Dirk. "Why don't we get back to our show?" He turned back to the television. All of the couples in the room moved closer to each other. There was silence for a while as everyone stared at the television. 

"I wonder what is occupying Jade's mind," Kanaya wondered aloud. Rose shrugged. 

"God only knows what that girl is up to," she responded. Attention was trained back to the television for some time. As the clock stroke eleven fourty, Jake lost consciousness and slept peacefully in Dirk's strong arms. Dirk smirked at this. 

"There he goes," he whispered, rubbing a calloused finger down Jake's cheek. 

"You probably wore him out," Dave muttered. Dirk shrugged, still staring at the half-naked boy resting silently against his chest. 

"What can I say? He takes an ass pounding like nobody's business." 

"You're correct. It is nobody's business," Rose snapped. Dave snickered. 

"Shots fired," he commented. 

"I agree. Not on the bullets but as to the fact that you and your slave's sexual intercourse is not our business," Kanaya added. 

"We go over this everytime. Bro's not gonna change anything," Dave said rudely. Dirk's eyebrows went up. 

"What does that mean?" He asked. 

"Just forget it," Rose scoffed. Dave and Rose exchanged glances. Ten minutes were left until the new year. Dirk stood up, causing Jake to roll off of him and wake up with a jolt. 

"No, I'm sick of being treated like a child. We're all adults here, and I am not stupid," Dirk protested angrily. Dave stood as well. 

"Oh, yeah, Bro, you are a total genius! Why don't we get you an award?" He asked. Dirk pointed his index finger at Dave. 

"What is your problem with me? For fuck's sake, I raised you and bought you your own fucking slave. Brand new from T.U.S.S.!" He shouted. Rose stood and held out her arms. 

"Everyone sit back down," she ordered. 

"Speak for yourself, Rose," Dave argued. He looked back at his older brother. "I didn't ask for a slave. I didn't want one!"

"I offered to take him back! What do you want me to do?" Dirk yelled. Jake scrambled to get to John. John grabbed Dave's arm and whimpered. Dave gently pushed him off.

"I want you to get out of my life!" He shouted back. Jake grabbed John's hand and tried to pull him out of the room. John struggled to break away from his grip. 

"Just two more minutes until the end of the new year," Glinda stated happily on the television.

"Dave, Dirk, please just relax. This is a holiday," Rose tried to reason with them. 

"We're brothers! I'm not leaving your life!" Dirk growled at Dave, ignoring Rose. 

"What a joyous moment this is. We'll start the count down soon," Brad stated with his small, chocolate eyes half-lidded. 

"Fuck off!" Dave shouted. 

"No! You need me, Dave! You needed me when our parents died, and you need me now!" 

"Come on, John. We need to-" Jake was cut off as John fell back to the couch and broke away from him. 

"Fifty-five, fifty-four, fifty-three," the crowd shouted along with Glinda and Brad on the television. 

"I'm not a little kid anymore!" Dave nearly screamed, his ears turning red in anger. 

"We're slaves! We have to stick together!" Jake whined. John shook his head and crawled to the other side of the couch.

"Thirty-two, thirty-one!" They continued to cheer.

"You don't hate me!" Dirk shouted at the top of his lungs. Kanaya stood and screamed,

"Everyone shut up!" The room went silent. 

"Tweny-one, twenty-" the crowd stopped counting as a loud explosion abruptly engulfed all the sound recepters on the television. Brad protectively grabbed Glinda from behind and jumped to the ground as red and orange smoke began to fill the screen. Screams and gun shots were heard as blood splattered onto the camera lense just before the program went black. All eyes in the room were locked on the oversized television as the screams slowly died down to groans of agony. The only other sounds to be heard were faint orders in the Russian language.


	11. Breathing Fear

John laid on his back in the sweet-smelling room. His limbs were sprawled out on the soft sheets as he gazed up at the ceiling. The long car ride home and all the arguments he had witnessed had really exhausted him. Kanaya sat on the bed next to him, her eyes switching from John to the blonde siblings again and again. John sighed softly and listened to Dave and Rose speak. 

"Fuck him! God, I hate him so much. Can you fucking believe him, Rose? He told me that I should get rid of John. What's his problem?" Dave vented. Rose simply shook her head in response, leaning against the purple wall.

"Was it truly necessary for us to leave?" Kanaya asked. "Perhaps it would have been better for us to stick together at a time of crisis?" Dave shook his head angrily. 

"No way. I was glad to leave that shit hole," he replied. Rose smirked.

"Are you referring to Dirk or his home?" She asked. 

"Both." Dave pouted and sat on the bed. John looked over to Dave with a dull expression. Dave moved a hand into John's dark locks of hair silently. He pet back the messy strands affectionately. John sighed in content and sunk into his calloused hands. The blonde's expression softened as he watched John. "You're scared, aren't you?" Kanaya stared at John with a frown. John went back to staring at the ceiling. 

"I'll turn the news. We should see what's happening in the world," Rose declared. She turned on the television. 

"Hopefully we still have a world," Dave muttered. Kanaya looked alaramed by Dave's comment.

"Do you mean to imply that America has possibly been infiltrated and destroyed already?" She asked with fear in her voice. Dave's expression switched between amused and expressionless as his smirk wavered. Rose sat down next to Kanaya and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Dave's just being an idiot again. We'll be alright," she said softly to her lover. Kanaya nodded. Dave looked at John again. John looked back. 

"Do you...want your notebook now?" The blonde asked carefully. John looked away. Dave sighed in obvious irritation. Rose watched the television screen with an old sadness locked in her violet eyes. The screen displayed different men and woman all in several different places. They switched from person to person, explaining new details of the story with each switch of the screen. 

It was announced the president would address the situation the next day. Rose sighed at the news and leaned against Kanaya's chest. The other held her affectionately, carefully patting down her already flat, blonde hair. John barely brought himself to look at the television screen. When he did, his eyes were forced to capture the sight of a barren area. The ground appeared to be fuzzy due to the black dust that swirled around due to the small amount of wind. Barely visible shadows of destroyed buildings were seen by the blue-eyed boy looking through a television screen. 

John sat up slowly, his eyes locked on the screen. A woman's voice described the area, but John paid no mind to her words. His lips parted slightly as the camera panned over the vacant areas. He felt his insides grow cold and his limbs stiffen at the sight. His mind began to explore what this would mean for him, for Dave, for everyone. Was this truly war? Would the government fall apart? 

His thoughts were dark with fear as he wondered what would happen to Dave and himself. If the government just crumbled away, escape would be incredibly easily. He could just wonder away from Dave and then…and then what? Finding Susan wouldn't be easy, and he had no way to know if she even still had his father's phone. Dave also haunted his thoughts. How could John just leave him? He could get hurt or die. John did not like either of those thoughts in the slightest bit.

"It's late. Do you care if John and I stick around for the night?" Dave asked. Rose shook her head. 

"That's alright. Do you still remember where the extra bedroom is?" Rose questioned. Dave nodded.

"Yep, thanks, Rose." He stood up and began to walk out of the room. He only stopped when he noticed John wasn't following him. The man's dark eyebrows were furrowed as he stared at the television with concern. "Come on, John." His voice was soft. John blinked away his emotions and stood up. He nodded and followed Dave out of the room. He was lead to a small room with a twin-sized bed, just a little smaller than Dave's bed. 

"There should be room for both of us," he said. He lifted the thick comforter and slipped his long legs underneath the blankets. John waited until Dave was fully situated before moving to lay next to him. The sheets were so soft; they almost felt like silk. John's eyes fell shut as warmth and exhaustion took control of him. However, sleep didn't come. John found his eyes slipping back open within a few minutes. He wanted to close his eyes and let go of his consciousness, but his body had other plans. 

John rolled over to face Dave. The blonde was sound asleep. His lips were slightly parted, and a pink flush laid on his cheeks, shading around his faint freckles. Warmth radiated off of the man as he breathed softly. Blue eyes stared at the other's lips. They looked so soft, and his breath was so warm. John scooted closer to Dave. He was only about three inches from Dave's lips now. 

The temptation to press his lips against Dave's was overwhelming. He had been kissed by the other before. He knew how sweet and softly the blonde kissed. John moved a little closer to Dave, his arms reaching out. Blonde eyelashes suddenly separated, revealing a puddle of red underneath. Blood eyes glanced at John before an eyebrow was raised. 

"John?" The mentioned male jerked away at the sound of his voice. "You okay?" John nodded. His heart was pounding, but he was still determined. He was going to get Dave to hold him. His cheeks burned red as he moved closer and wrapped his arms around Dave. There was silence as the blonde stayed completely still. "Do you want me to sleep on the floor?" John shook his head. He gave Dave's middle a little squeeze. 

John hid his hot face in Dave's chest. He bit his lip and contemplated what to do next. He figured that Dave would hold him if he seemed sad. John faked a whimper and intertwined his legs with Dave's. Wow, this felt really nice. Dave shushed him and wrapped his long arms around John, holding him close to his body. He kissed the top of John's head, inhaling his scent and making John feel tingly. 

"It's okay, John. We're gonna be alright," Dave said in a soft, soothing voice. John squeezed Dave tighter. "We're tough Americans. We can fight back. We've got weapons, a good government. Red, white, and blue, right? Don't worry, man. We're fine, okay?" John nodded but remained in Dave's grip. He didn't plan on the leaving the other's arms for quite a while. He laid in silence as the two held each other, listening to Dave's heartbeat and relaxed breathing. He fell asleep in no time. 

The morning was a rush of checking the news every couple minutes and the women trying to get Dave and John out of the house. The ladies were eventually successful, and John found himself back in Dave's bed with a chain locked to a cuff on his ankle. He sighed heavily and picked at the lock. Dave was pacing around the whole apartment, walking from room to room and circling John as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

"I just hate him so much," Dave declared in his irritation. "He thinks he knows what's best for me, and his head is bigger than a baby's eyes on their first birthday when they see their birthday cake all for themselves. First time having sugar, and you get four cups of it if you can eat it all." He ran his fingers through his silky, blonde hair. "Can you believe him, John?" He lowered his voice dramatically in an obvious attempt to mimic Dirk. "Why don't you just sell him if you don't like him?" Dave huffed. "God, he's so fucking full of himself. Everything's just about profit and keeping his reputation to him." 

John's eyes followed Dave now. He had to wonder if Dave really didn't like him. He hadn't denied it after all. John contemplated Jake's advice. He wasn't sure if he was opposed to sleeping with Dave, but he didn't like the idea of taking someone's genitals into his hole. It sounded painful and gross to him. He doubted it would even feel good. He was a guy after all. He sighed as the blonde continued to pace around the room. 

"God, he seemed so happy when we finally left. I didn't even want to go in the first place! He basically begged us to go, and Rose totally forced us into it. Did you want to go, John? I sure as hell didn't." Dave didn't even look over to John for a response, and John hadn't planned on giving him one anyways. "I hate this. I'm so fucking done with him. I don't get why Rose is acting so normal about everything. For fuck's sake, she needs to just pick a side."

John wondered how he could comfort Dave. He agreed with his points. He thought that Dirk's behavior was terrible, and he didn't understand how Rose was even able to convince him to go to the party with Dave holding such a deep anger towards his older brother. He figured that Dave's affection towards Rose was too strong for him to say no. He was just upset at the moment. 

He watched the blonde pace with interest. There really weren't a lot of things to think about in John's life nowadays that didn't stir up pain and memories he wanted gone. The only think he could bring himself to focus on was Dave. A small spark of gentleness in his life of angst. Dave looked over to John and finally stopped pacing. He sighed heavily and looked up at the ceiling. 

"I can't believe we're in a war now. Damn, I really should be paying attention to the news more," Dave muttered. He sat down next to John on the bed now. He looked over to John, and John found himself locked into Dave's gaze, noticing the glint of red underneath his sunglasses due to their proximity. "So much just happened." His voice was softer now, speaking directly to John instead of arguing with himself. "Don't you have something to say?" 

John sighed quietly and hesitated before looking away. He had lots he could say. He was scared as to what would come of America. He was upset about the way Dirk had treated Jake, and overall, he could go for a nice vent. However, he didn't say anything. There was just no point in speaking. Dave shook his head and smiled sadly. 

"Of course not. You never want to talk to me." His voice was soft and wavered. John looked back at Dave. "I don't get it, John. I'm trying so hard to respect you. We haven't even slept together yet. I have had you for almost two months now, and we still haven't slept together. Do you know how disappointing that is?" Dave swallowed thickly and then took a deep breath. He ran his hand through his silky, blonde hair. "Look, I'm not trying to pressure you into anything. It's just-god, you're my sex slave. I could rape you if I wanted to, but I'm not." 

John furrowed his brows together as he watched Dave speak. He didn't understand what Dave was trying to say. It was clear that Dave wanted to sleep with him, but it seemed that he was searching for John's consent. This seemed especially strange to John because he knew Dave didn't need his consent. He also didn't understand why he would want it. Dave had molested him before and put a collar on him for Pete's sake! He didn't actually care about consent. Did he? 

"I'm sorry, John. I'm not sure what I'm trying to say," Dave admitted. John rolled his eyes as his thoughts were confirmed. Dave laughed softly. "Did you just roll your eyes at me?" John looked away again. The blonde laughed again before laying down on his back. "God." He chuckled more and held his stomach. John raised a brow. He guessed he didn't get the punch line. 

He sighed and laid down next to Dave. He reached over and grabbed the other's hand. He gave it a soft squeeze to reassure him that it was alright. Dave looked over at John, and they both smiled at each other. They then looked to the ceiling and sighed simultaneously. The two stayed in this position for a while, hopelessness and irritation polluting the air they inhaled. John had an uncomfortable feeling that things were going to get worse before they became better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to apologize for taking so long to publish this chapter. I'm also sorry that it's so short. A lot of things are going to happen really suddenly in the next few chapters, so please stay patient and stick with me. Thank you.


	12. Chapter 12

John was only eighteen years old. In his mind, he felt old, but to another, he was barely an adult. He was too young to drink, too young to marry, and too young to die. He had so many hopes. His mind was full of dreams that his heart had conjured up. He wanted to be someone. He wanted to make something of himself. Just like everyone in this world, he wanted a purpose for his life. 

He wondered what his purpose was now. To spread his legs for an attractive blonde that stole his heart after purchasing his body? To sit on a bed and watch re-runs of his old, favorite movies until his muscles had atrophied until his body was nothing more than skin and bones? If so, then it seemed that he had already completed his purpose. He felt useless, meaningless, void of purpose. He was only Dave's beaten rag doll. Eyes were glued on him as he walked down the sidewalk of the city. 

It was a mellow afternoon, but the streets were still full. Middle-aged women sat on metal chairs painted red under dusty, oversized umbrellas on the hot day. They ate their low-fat meals as they gossiped about anything and everything until their stomachs were full. Children that stunk of sunscreen pushed their siblings as they giggled and hunted down their favorite toy stores. 

"I remember when I was a kid," Dave said. The tall blonde shielded John from the harsh rays of the bright, midday sun. An old man about the same height of John brushed John's shoulder.

"I need another goddamn slave," he muttered under his breath but not out of John's ear range. John tightened his grip on Dave's hand.

"Well, I guess I was more of a brat than a normal, middle-class kid with safety-proof everything in the house," Dave continued. He looked off to the sidewalk and swallowed bile audibly. John guessed that he was thinking of his older brother again. John noticed that Dave seemed to think of him quite often and then would simply shake his head. It was as if Dave didn't want to think of him. John could understand why.

"Oh, wow! They already released the new 3D, limited edition, red dragon pack!" A short, stout girl with oversized glasses exclaimed. John glanced at her as she stood on her toes and looked into a comic book store. His shoulder pressed into Dave's as he tried to stay out of her way. John was definitely wrong. No one was looking at him. He felt like a side show attraction with an empty wait line. 

"I bet you were a good kid," Dave commented. "Did your parents buy you shitloads of ice cream and all the toys you ever wanted? I bet your mom would buy everything you'd throw in the cart at a grocery store. No, who am I kiddin'? You wouldn't put anything in the cart but the groceries, huh?" The blonde looked over to John with the faintest upward curve of his lip, but John didn't look his way. 

The uncomfortable male slipped a finger under his collar as he walked. It wasn't on too tight, but it still felt wrong, as if it would choke him with only a slight tug on his leash. Dave had already loosened it for him twice in the past fifteen minutes due to John's insistent tugging. If it were to be loosened any more, it would certainly fall off. The end of the leash was tied around Dave's belt in a couple annoying knots. John wouldn't be able to take it off without Dave noticing. 

Dave was quiet for a couple minutes as the pair made their way through the city. John kept his eyes on the buildings that they past. A bakery with large, long windows caught his attention or more so, his nose. He inhaled the scents of fresh bread and finely-aged cheese. He looked inside the window to see small tables in the back and an angelic counter in the front. Underneath the counter were several rows of different baked goods including cookies, muffins, slices of specialized bread and more. 

John's mouth watered as he looked at the different foods and wondered what each one would taste like. He was certain that slice of banana nut bread would be moist and sugary. John never thought he'd admit it, but he missed sweets. At T.U.S.S., he would occasionally be fed a hard cookie or an almost flavorless piece of candy to keep his blood pressure from dropping like an airplane, but it was never satisfying. Dave gave John a lot of junk food such as chips and microwavable meals, but still, it never pleased his sweet tooth.

John's childlike desires were interrupted as a familiar sign on the window blocked his view. He had seen the exact same sign on a few other stores and restaurants on his walk. It was a yellow sign with the words, 'No foreigners' written in bold at the bottom. The middle of the sign was full of Russian letters that John couldn't recognize. He almost regretted taking Latin in High School. He assumed that the Russian words said the same thing, and the bottom words were simply the English translation. 

It had been two weeks since Russia had declared war on America. The media was tense as were the political officials, but life on the streets seemed to be carrying on like normal. The only thing out of place were these signs. It was clear that the people as a whole were afraid of not only Russians but any foreigners. It seemed that most people were afraid of a world war starting. John looked away from the sign.

"How's it feel to finally stretch your legs out?" Dave asked. "Nice, fresh air in your lungs. It's nice, right?" Sometimes John wondered if Dave actually believed that he might respond. "We should go on more walks. I don't know why I never took you on any before." John noticed a sign for a park. He had been there once before when he had left the apartment while Dave was at work. He remembered it being a quiet park full of bright, green grass and sturdy, well-kept benches. He gave Dave's hand a gentle squeeze and stopped walking. 

"Hm? What's wrong, John?" Dave asked, looking over to him. John started to walk towards the sign. Dave followed him. "Oh, you wanna go to the park. Okay." John walked to a bench and then sat down with a soft sigh. Dave sat down next to him. "Yeah, I guess I'm a little tired too." John looked around the small park. 

There was a pretty, young woman sitting on a bench only a few meters away from John. He looked over to her with interest. She was laughing happily and looking at a tall, muscular, and shirtless man in the center of the park. John leaned against Dave as he watched the two. He wondered if the man and woman were lovers. He wished he could date again. 

He had begun to contemplate what type of girl he would date when he felt Dave lean back against him. The scent of cheap yet appealing cologne filled his nose. His lips curled into a smile as a thought crossed his mind. Dave would be the type of girl he'd date. The man in the distance began to walk closer to the girl, and John's eyes were back on the pair. At the closer view, he was able to see the dark gray collar around his neck.

The woman chuckled and spoke to him as she attached a leash to his collar. It looked as if it didn't lock in place. He guessed the woman must really trust the man. John gave the top of his leash a little tug to see if Dave would respond. He didn't. It appeared that Dave's attention was also trained on the pair next to them. John wondered what he was thinking. He usually wasn't so quiet. The blonde suddenly turned his head to meet John's gaze, causing the dark-haired male to jump. 

"Do you wanna get ice cream?" Dave asked suddenly, his eyebrows raised in alert. John blinked once and then looked away. "I'm taking that as a 'Hell yeah, thanks, Dave." His voice was calmer now and back to normal. The tall man stood up, making John pout. They had only been sitting for a couple minutes, and he had been enjoying the sun. He stood as well, not wanting to make too much of a fuss and walked with Dave back into town. 

"There's an ice cream place right around here," he turned a corner and pointed to a small sign. It read, 'Sally's Sweets'. "Shit, man, this place is the real shabang. You take one bite, and you go to sugar paradise. I don't know about you, gorgeous, but sugar paradise is where I like to spend my time." Dave led them to the shop. "Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry?" He looked to John for answer. John didn't give him one. "Two vanillas it is." 

He ordered the ice cream and then handed John a cone. John smiled softly at him and then began to lick the already melting ice cream. They began to walk back to the park while John frantically tried to devour the sugary, frozen cream. Dave's phone began to go off. He quickly handed John his ice cream cone and dug through his pocket to answer the call. John thought nothing of this until the ice cream began to melt onto his fingers. He scrunched up his face and tried to keep it from getting on his clothes.

"Sup," Dave answered the phone. "Spill the beans, Rose. I don't like suspense." Dave took the ice cream back from John and sloppily licked the side of the cone. John giggled at this action. The blonde smirked widely at him, showing off his teeth. "Oh, shit, what'd she do?" His smile was gone in a blink of an eye. 

"Fuck, just- calm down, okay? We can work this out." Dave began to walk back home. John followed him closely, wondering what was wrong. He paid attention to Dave's conversation, watching his expressions from the corner of his eye. There were so many emotions he could pick out in Dave's usually stoic face that he couldn't pin point which ones were the most prominent. 

"Yeah, and I could put in more hours for my work too... Wait, you're right. I don't want him to be all alone... Really? If you say so. What about Kanaya?" As they moved into a more crowded part of town, John was unable to hear Dave's conversation. He couldn't even hear a faint voice coming from the phone and thus was unable to figure out what Dave was talking about. The blonde had stopped eating his ice cream now, leaving it dripping down his long fingers like waterfalls of white cascading down several beds of pale rocks. 

He tossed it into a trash can that they passed. John was tempted to do the same, but his desire to eat the ice cream was too strong. It was his, and he wasn't giving it up. They eventually made it back to the apartment. John was chained back to the bedroom. Dave told him he would be gone for a while and then went to the kitchen. John chomped into his cone and then turned on the television. 

John waited for Dave nervously and was relieved when the blonde finally returned to the room. Dave let out a shaky breath before taking the spot next to John on the bed. His fingers anxiously ran through his mop of hair as he stared at the television. He looked back at John, and the two made eye contact just long enough for John to know that something was terribly wrong. The dark-haired male raised a brow, and Dave just shook his head and looked back to the screen. 

"I can't believe it, John," he spoke quietly, his voice full of disbelief and disappointment. John watched him closely, noticing the way the blue light of the television shone in the shadow's of Dave's sharp features. "She was always the best kid in our group. Miss goodie two-shoes that our parents loved. I was the annoying delinquent that never turned down my music. Rose was the snarky, mature one that was way too sassy for her own good, but Jade..." 

Dave shook his head sadly, his blonde bangs falling onto his forehead. His hand rested at his side, his sweaty fingers attempting to clutch the soft blanket. John contemplated reaching for it, allowing their lengthy fingers to intertwine. He thought about picking up Dave's hand and kissing the back of it, whispering soft, comforting words to him, and then kissing him softly on the lips. He wondered if Dave would kiss him back, wrap his arms around him, and cling to him desperately.

He liked the thought of Dave leaning on him and depending on him. John would kiss Dave's forehead and tell him soft reassurances. John wondered what Dave would feel like in his short arms. He figured that Dave would feel like a heavy pillow with strong arms that would hug him close as he cried. He just needed to reach over and smile at the other. However, John's hand remained at his side. He kept his lips pursed into a line, and he kept his mouth shut.

"Jade's the bubbly ball of joy that all the nerdy boys at school tried to date but never could because her standards are just too high." The side of Dave's lip lifted for a moment in an almost smirk, but only half a second later it pointed downwards, resulting in a tough frown of a man avoiding tears. "She's better than them. She doesn't belong in jail. She's... She's just Jade." Dave sighed softly, his eyes lowering down to stare at the floor. 

Dave looked over to John once more, and even with his eyes covered by sunglasses, John knew that the edges of his bright, sideway crescent-shaped eyes had turned pink. Oh, how John longed to see those eyes. The deep puddle of bright red that slowly burned to a dark maroon at the edges was surrounded with flaky shrubs of blonde lashes that never failed to increase John's heartbeat. He turned away from John once more, and John forced himself to look away as well this time. 

"She got arrested. Apparently she helped out in some drug dealing shit. She joined some group-or, I guess gang- a while back, and fuck, fuck, they dragged her down. I can't let her go to fucking jail. She's too pretty for that. She'll get lesbian raped in a week, and...if the sentence is over two years, then..." John's bright blue irises drifted to the corner of his eyes where he met Dave's haunting glance from inbetween the black leg of his sunglasses. 

Anyone could finish Dave's sentence. There was an incredible amount of fear involved in losing a loved one to the sexual slavery industry. If someone was in prison for the rest of their lives, then their family could still visit them. They could appeal all they wanted and try to reduce their sentence, but if they were to be bought into a sexual slavery company, it was all over for that person. 

There was a tense silence as the two stared at each other, two entirely different worlds of situations and experiences coming to a center of understanding. Dave's eyes widened in the slightest way, and John's heart sped. The air around him grew hot, and his toes became cold. He felt his throat begin to close. Dave abruptly broke off the contact, his lips pulled down in a harsh expression. 

"You know," he deadpanned. John swallowed down his emotions. The air around the two lightened once more as Dave's potential apiphany refused to blossom. "We can't let that happen. We've gotta get Jade the best lawyer money can buy, so I'm gonna have to start working longer hours. Unfortunately, Rose won't be able to babysit since she'll be working like a motivated bee hoping to support his family in the quickly dying economy, so you're gonna be stuck here alone for most of the day."

John's heart sunk at Dave's words. Not only was he upset about Dave saying that he needed a babysitter, but he didn't want to be alone. Eversince he was moved out of T.U.S.S. and no longer forced into solitary confinement in a small cage for almost the full day, John had developed a sort of anxiety for being alone. He whimpered and curled into a ball, bringing his legs to his chest and hiding his face in his knees. He felt like he was going to go insane if Dave left him for that long. His breathing picked up speed as his concerns grew. 

"Hey, hey, don't do that now." Dave moved a long arm around John's back and rubbed his arm soothingly. "It'll be okay." John looked at the other with pleading eyes. What he was pleading for was clear even if it hadn't been vocalized. He didn't want to be left alone. Dave's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed down bile. He rested his cheek against the top of John's hair that was softer than feathers. 

"I have to go to class and work and shit. I can't just stay here. Trust me. If I could, I'd just stay with you." John let out a soft whine of agitation and leaned into the taller male's touch. "I mean, you could just come with me to class, but do you want to?" John wrapped his arms around Dave's middle and gave him a little squeeze, his eyes falling closed peacefully. 

"Things would be so much easier if you just talked," Dave whispered to other, a small bite of angst caught on the edge of his words. John felt his chest burn for a moment, but the cool relief of soft warmth that was Dave smoothed out his hurt. "I miss your voice." The pair held each other for the next few minutes, relishing in each other's warmth. Dave eventually pulled away and stood up.

John crawled underneath the covers, now cold due to the absence of Dave. He pulled them up his chin and bunched up the pillow behind him to prop up his head and shoulders. He stared at the television screen once more. He never thought he could grow so sick of movies and television shows. Everything he used to love was plain and boring now like his daily life. He sighed softly and glanced to the door.

Dave walked inside the bedroom once more with a bottle of apple juice in his hand. He lazily pushed the bendy straw against his lips as he walked closer to the bed. John pulled back the blankets for Dave. The blonde smirked as he slid into the area next to John. He muttered a thank you and then settled into his spot, pushing the blankets up to lay comfortably around him. The rest of the night was spent in a comfortable silence except for Dave's occasional commentary. 

As John laid in bed that night to sleep, he couldn't help but wonder what going to class with Dave would be like. He mainly hoped that he'd be able to hold his hand for at least most of the class.


	13. Resolve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone for all your kudos and sweet comments! I finally finished this chapter, and I've already started the next. Here it is!

John tightened his grip on Dave’s hand and pressed against his side, cloudy blue eyes darting from person to person as they moved around the pair swiftly. John swallowed thickly and sunk his top teeth into the inside of his bottom lip. John had learned to hate crowds. He didn’t mind them so much when he was younger. Being surrounded by so many people with different names, faces, scents, and backstories was exciting when the man was boy. Nowadays, he just found it all too overwhelming. Before John’s throat could fully close with the bubble of anxiety that was slowly closing in around him, a voice like golden silk soothed the boy.

“Well, ain’t this a nice way to start the day?” Dave scoffed with thick sarcasm. John clung to the sweet voice, both literally and figuratively. The blonde shushed him. “Relax. I’m right here. Just don’t let go of me, and you’ll be fine. These horny college students are just trying to get to the hell called class they paid way too much money for…or they’re going to the cafeteria. Yeah, that explains the eag-“

“Watch it!” A tall man shouted, giving Dave a rough shove. Dark brown eyes landed on the blonde when he didn’t even flinch. Those saddened eyes moved to the blankest blues, causing the shorter male to jerk upwards. 

“Relax,” Dave told John, continuing to walk. John had expected Dave to lash out at the other with either his words or his fists, or at least a sassy remark. However, Dave just kept walking. John had figured out at this point that Dave kept his emotions bundled up inside of himself until his breaking point where he would lose his cool façade and unleash his anger at the people around him, like he had at the Christmas party. John was incredibly worried for Dave. He knew the other was upset, but he wasn’t upset with anger or irritation this time. He was full of concern, and John had never seen how Dave reacted in this type of situation. 

He had hoped for a while that Rose would tell him a story about Dave being worried about someone and comforting them or becoming childish and overly clingy. He had hoped that Dave would cling to him in his grief and just talk and talk. Dave sure did do a lot of talking, as if to compensate for John’s silence, but it seemed to be about nonsense more than anything else. John secretly loved the nonsense Dave spoke, but he wanted to hear how he was really feeling. Dave, Rose, and Kanaya were all worried sick about Jade, but John’s mind was in another place. He was locked on Dave. What else was there to focus on anyways?

“Here we go.” Dave opened a glass door that was smeared with sweaty finger prints. He guided John inside the large, beautiful yet unclean, red, brick building. John stared up at the blonde as he walked through the slightly less crowded hallways to his first class. John looked around from time to time to make sure he didn’t bump into anyone like Dave had. People seemed a lot scarier than they had before somehow. 

The hallways were full of different faces; from beautiful, thin women with neatly done makeup and hair to over-weight, sweaty men that smelled as if they hadn’t showered in days. Some people walked in clusters while others walked by themselves. The expressions were different on each person, but if someone were to make eye-contact with John, their faces would crinkle up in pity, fear, or guilt. Sometimes it would be a combination of all three. John reasoned that this was because of the collar around his neck and the leash attached to Dave’s belt. 

He tried not to look directly into anyone’s eyes for this reason. They made it to Dave’s classroom after what felt like forever. The door was held open by a wooden door stopper, so the two were able to walk right inside. Dave sat down next to the window by the back. He tapped the desk behind him, signaling for John to sit down there. John did so as Dave began to tie his leash to the leg of the desk. 

“No one sits there, so you should be good here.” John wondered why Dave had tied his leash to the desk. It made him feel like an animal and a lot less connected to Dave. He glared at the stupid leash. He wanted to put it in his mouth and just tear it apart, but even these thoughts were embarrassing. He wasn’t a child anymore, but he felt even younger and less competent than one. Dave placed a notebook and a pack of colored pencils on John’s desk. “Here. You can draw or something during class. I’m sorry you have to sit through this.”

Once Dave turned back around and the teacher closed the door, John laid his head down on the notebook. He didn’t want to draw. He wanted to attend class. He glared daggers at the back of Dave’s head, but his expression quickly softened when he remembered that Dave probably just didn’t know what to do with him. At least he was trying to entertain John. It wasn’t like Dave had asked to be put in this situation. It almost saddened John to remember that Dave hadn’t chosen him, but it soothed him at the same time. Wondering how Dave really felt and thought relaxed John. 

Twenty minutes into the class, John was bored out of his mind and didn’t know what to do. The teacher had just ignored him and was lecturing the class with a PowerPoint presentation over Beethoven. John found this extremely boring. He had no interest in art or music save for playing the piano that he had been forced into learning as a child and surprisingly ended up loving it. He finally lifted his head and looked down at the notebook Dave had given him. There was a chip at the end of the metal spiral, showing that it had been worn down. He doubted this was a new notebook.

He opened the cover and turned to the first page. “Music Throughout the Ages Ch. 1,” was written at the top of the front page. John flipped through the first few pages. He found this awfully disappointing. It was just an old notebook probably from the first semester of this class. Each page was dated, and sure enough, the days only fell on week days. It was just a boring, old notebook full of notes for a class over things that John did not care about. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting or hoping for. It wasn’t like Dave was just going to hand him his diary. 

He sighed softly as he flipped through the pages thoughtlessly. There were so many pages of just Dave’s sloppy hand writing that John wasn’t sure if there were even any blank pages to draw in. He was about to close the notebook when his eyes caught a burst of blue at the bottom side of a page. He didn’t think Dave would be a doodler, but yet there was a sloppily drawn picture of an eye at the bottom of the page. Dave most definitely wasn’t good at drawing by any means. 

The picture at the bottom was of a wide, blue eye. The bottom of the eye was crinkled. John knew this was a sign the person was smiling because his eyes always crinkled a lot whenever he smiled. There was a lot of detail put into the little eyeball on the page. Little lines were drawn in side of the eye in a dark blue pen. Long, straight eyelashes were drawn in black on the top and bottom of the eye. The concepts and details in the eye were all correct, but the execution itself was very sloppy and just unskilled. 

John looked up at the date on the top of the page. He stared at the number for a moment in confusion. He had no clue what day it was. He leaned forwards and glanced over Dave’s shoulder at the notebook he was currently writing in. He looked for the date on the page, but he was too far to see it. He leaned forwards more to the point where he could feel Dave’s warmth and smell his sweet scent. He internally groaned because he just loved the way Dave smelled. The smell of apples, the snack section at a convenience store, and cheap cologne could really grow on someone if the smell was coming off of the person they had a gigantic crush on. 

John blinked a couple times to block out these embarrassing thoughts. It was January 26th apparently. It was so strange to recognize that it was warm outside during a winter month. John almost missed the cold weather and annoying snow that he had back in Washington. He wondered if Dave had ever actually seen snow in his life. He leaned back in his seat and stared at the back of Dave’s head with an internal smile. He wondered how Dave would react to snow if he had never seen it before. He fantasized about the blonde snuggled up in layer after layer of coats and scarfs. He thought about Dave reaching downwards and picking up a handful of soft, fluffy snow that was terrible for packing but lovely to look at. 

He thought about Dave staring at the small amount of quickly melting snow on his gloved hand and bringing it up to his face. His nose was pink and had a small amount of snot dripping out of it in John’s fantasy. He imagined him trying to blow the snow out of his palm like in the movies but being irritated when he realized that the snow had already melted together in an annoying clump. He could see the way Dave would pout, his thick eyebrows furrowing together in irritation and his bottom lip moving upwards. John wanted to take Dave’s cold hands and show him how to properly blow on the snow. Due to his angle, the snow would fly into Dave’s face, making the pale man shiver and shake his head. He wondered if Dave would sneeze. That would be cute. 

John looked away from Dave’s styled, blonde hair and looked back to the notebook in front of him. The page with the eye on it was dated December 18th. John knew this had to be drawn after he was bought. This made him wonder if it was supposed to be someone’s eye. Due to the complete lack of Dave’s artistic ability, John had no idea whose eye it was supposed to be. He thought for a moment. Who did Dave know that had blue eyes? Rose had violet eyes. He couldn’t remember the color of Kanaya’s, but he was sure they were a darker color. Jake’s were green. He was sure of this since the man’s eyes were so incredibly alluring. 

They couldn’t have been Dave’s eyes. It would make sense that he would draw his own eye, but why would he color it blue? Also, Dave had pale, blonde eyelashes. They weren’t dark and thick like in the picture. John’s were more like that. This could be a terrible drawing of John’s eye. John’s heart started to beat faster in his chest. This meant that Dave was thinking about him in class. He pressed his legs together and placed his fingers over his lips shyly. This didn’t mean that Dave had romantic feelings for him or anything, but it did mean that Dave was thinking about him. That excited John way more than it should have. 

John looked up at Dave who was writing furiously and then looked back down at the notebook. His heart was pounding in ears, making the tops of his cheeks and the tips of his ears turn red. He quickly flipped to the next blank page and then opened the box of colored pencils. He decided to leave Dave a little message, just to see how he’d react if he found it later on. He pulled out a yellow pencil, a red pencil, and a black pencil. He picked up the yellow pencil first and drew an outline of the shape of Dave’s eye. 

Once the outline looked okay, John carefully drew Dave’s naturally curled, blonde eyelashes. He drew Dave’s pupils next and then his bright red iris. John stared at the picture once it was finished. It didn’t look good at all, but it did look slightly better than Dave’s. John smiled softly and then put the colored pencils back in the box. He closed the notebook and then sighed quietly. The sound of several folders closing all at once made John’s ears perk up. He looked around the room as several people gathered their things and a few stood up. Dave stood as well and untied John’s leash. 

“Class is dismissed,” he said with a tired smile. “Did you draw anything cool?” John stood up but didn’t answer of course. Dave nodded his head anyways as if John had just thoroughly explained something complicated. “Really? That’s quite interesting.” Dave’s sarcasm was thicker than John’s mess of hair. Dave reattached the leash to his belt and then reached his hand out for John to take. He took it with his cheeks still pink. Dave put away the colored pencils and notebook before exiting the room with his secret admirer tagging along. 

“My next class is just over here.” The two turned a corner and then entered another classroom. A woman with a collar decorated with purple gems sat on the floor outside of the classroom. John looked at her as he was guided inside the room. He began to walk to the desk Dave was guiding him to but was stopped by a sudden voice. 

“Slaves aren’t allowed in my classroom. He can wait outside but can’t sit in here,” a tall man with a low, booming voice stated. Dave turned around and walked up to the man. 

“Mr. Maple, please, I don’t want anything to happen to John. He’s really quiet. I promise. He doesn’t even talk,” Dave begged. John looked down. 

“Mr. Strider, you know that I don’t allow slaves to sit in the classroom. It can lead to distractions,” Mr. Maple explained. “There are bars attached to the wall for chaining your slave down if you need to.” Dave opened his mouth but closed it. 

“Okay.” Dave led John back into the hallway. “I’m sorry about this, John. Mr. Maple can get a little feisty when he doesn’t have his pancakes.” John smiled softly at Dave’s joke. Dave pulled out his folder for the class along with a pencil and then set his bag down on the ground. He flattened it out and then tied John’s leash down to the bar. John sat down on the bag and glanced over to his left where the woman was before looking back to Dave. 

“I know you can probably get out of this but don’t. Just-stay here, okay? I’ll be right inside the room.” Dave stood up straight, looked to the classroom and then back at John. He gently took John’s hand, and the man would have sworn that he was staring directly into his eyes. “Please don’t run away again. I-…” He looked away. “I’ll be back in an hour.” He let go of John’s hand and then walked inside the classroom. John stared at the wooden door as it closed suddenly. He brought his knees up to his chest and stared at the floor silently for a few minutes. 

“He treats you well,” a quiet, almost ominous voice spoke to John’s left. He looked over shyly after a moment of hesitation. He shifted his feet and then stared at her with his face lowered. “He’s your owner. Am I correct? It’s rare to see an owner treat their slave so well. Did he know you well before?” John looked away. He didn’t know if he should speak or not. After a couple minutes of the woman staring at John in silence, she sighed quietly. “You don’t talk, do you? So he broke your vocal cords illegally and now feels bad about it. That’s why he ‘treats’ you well. He regrets it.” 

“Dave wouldn’t do that,” John whispered in a quiet, raspy voice. The woman smiled.

“So you do talk,” she inquired. 

“Every once in a blue moon.” He rested his plump cheek against his knee and stared at the ground with deep sorrow. 

“Why’s that?” John shrugged, still not looking at her. “Do you talk to Dave?”

“Why do you care?” His voice was soft, broken, void of any emotion but sadness. 

“Why do I need a reason to ask you a question?”

“Why do you feel the need to keep asking me questions? You won’t get anything out of it.”

“I’ll get an answer out of it, won’t I? And if I’m lucky, perhaps a conversation as well. I don’t get to have conversations very often.” 

“It sucks, doesn’t it?”

“Silence?”

“Not having conversations.”

“So silence.”

“You know what I meant.”

“Are you going to answer my question?”

“Why should I?”

“Because you might get a conversation out of it.”

“What’s the point in having a conversation? We’ll learn things about each other, and then we’ll never get to talk again. There’s no point.”

“There doesn’t have to be.”

“Yeah, there does.”

“Why do you say that?” John shrugged. This girl was starting to irritate him, and he was getting sick of talking so much. His throat burned. “Are you confused?”

“Kinda. You’re not making a lot of sense.”

“You’re the one that’s not answering my question but taking the time to respond. Most people are just quiet when I try to talk to them.” John clenched his teeth and looked away. The woman bit down on her lip. “I’m sorry. I just…I’m lonely.” She sighed heavily. 

“Does your owner not give you attention?” John asked. 

“Only when he’s fucking me… I hate him. I hate him so much. How could someone own a person for sex? I mean- I thought it was okay before I ended up in the system. It’s a fair trade, right? You do something wrong; you get in trouble. Prisons don’t overpopulate. Crime rates go down. It all sounded genius, but…”

“You’re forgetting about the law that lets parents sell their kids into it,” John nearly snapped. It seemed that everyone always forgot about that terrible law. The woman frowned. 

“That was never enforced when it was legal,” she argued. John shook his head and clenched his fists.

“Yeah it was!” he nearly shouted, his voice cracking dramatically. The woman’s brown eyes widened. 

“Don’t be so loud,” she whispered. “They’ll hear you.” John frowned and looked down.

“Sorry,” he whispered back. “But it’s true. I-I never broke a single law. I never stole anything, drank alcohol, did anything like that. The worst thing I ever did was cheat on this math test one time, but it was only one question. It’s not fair.” The woman just stared at him in shock. He looked over at her and stared into her glossy, brown eyes full of layers upon layers of emotion; heartbreak, regret, and so much loneliness that John wondered if she had ever once felt safe and content. He doubted it. “It’s.” He shook his head slowly as he stared at the other. “Not.” The woman leaned forwards to the point where her collar pressed against her neck and made the skin turn dark pink. “Fair.” His voice cracked on the last word as he felt his eyes begin to water. 

The woman reached forwards and suddenly grabbed John’s thin and long fingers with her short and stubby ones. John swallowed down the swelling in his throat and then managed to dry out his eyes by staring up at the white ceiling. He took in a deep breath through his nose and then let it out through his mouth, his dry cheeks puffing out in the process. He shook his head. “But none of this is fair for any of us, is it? It doesn’t matter what you stole or sold or did… I know that you didn’t deserve this. You’re legally being raped.” A muffled choke came from John’s side.

“Someone finally said it,” she said with relief that came crashing down harder than a tidal wave. 

“Is that what it’s like to live in the south?” John spat with irritation clear as day on his voice. “God, I can’t believe that this stupid system is in place. Slavery isn’t helping anyone. Even our owners have gotta feel bad about what they’re doing. I can tell that Dave doesn’t really want me. Hell, he doesn’t even know what to do with me half of the time. It is insane.”

“And the other half of the time he just fucks you, right? Because that’s all you’re for-“

“No, he doesn’t even do that. I guess Dave is a little different from most owners. He got me as a gift from his stupid and mean brother. I think he just grew up being told that he had to accept slavery, but now that he has me, he’s starting to question it.”

“You’re optimistic. What’s your name?” Her voice still wavered from tears, but there was joy behind it. 

“Used to be. I don’t know about that anymore. It’s John. Yours?”

“They renamed me Mary.”

“They renamed you?”

“They didn’t like my original name very much.”

“Why? What is it?”

“I can’t say. He told me to never say it again.”

“Oh come on, you’ll tell it to your buddy, Johnny, won’t you?” He felt awkward but also more comfortable than he had in a while. She nearly scoffed. 

“You were right the first time. We’ll never be friends. Your mood does to seem to have lifted in the past few moments however.”

“Huh? Well… I guess it just feels good to talk again.” Mary wiped a tear away. 

“Yeah? I guess that makes sense. Why did you stop talking in the first place? Dave doesn’t sound so bad.”

“He isn’t,” John said without hesitation. “In fact, he’s kinda awesome. He’s nice, handsome, and always tries to make me happy even if he isn’t that good at it.” He smiled at the thought of the gorgeous blonde. Mary looked concerned. 

“Wow. You really like him, don’t you?”

“More than I should,” John admitted. “I know I’m not supposed to like my owner that way, but… Dave is Dave.”

“Huh. I didn’t take you as a Stockholm syndrome kind of guy.”

“I know, okay? It seems like that, but it’s different. I’ve really been thinking about him a lot, and he’s my dream dude.”

“Dream dude? That sounded romantic,” she spat out sarcastically. 

“I didn’t know I was even into guys before, but when I met Dave, I started to question it. I really, really like him. Do you think that’s a bad thing?” Mary hesitated before answering. 

“No, I don’t so. It seems wrong on the surface, but if you really do love him-“

“Woah, that’s a strong word.”

“You don’t love him?”

“I might. I’m not sure.”

“Does he know how you feel?”

“Well, the last thing I told him was that I hate him so probably not.”

“Oh my gosh! You told the person that you love that you hate them and then stopped talking to them for how long?”

 

“Um…Like a month?”

“John, you have to talk to him!” 

“I know,” he said much more softly than Mary had previously spoken. “But it feels weird to try and talk to him now. I’ve been quiet for so long. I can’t just start talking again.”

“You’re talking now.”

“But you’re another slave. It’s different when I’m talking to a slave.”

“Ain’t that the truth. But I really do think that you should talk with Dave. Is there any chance he has feelings for you too?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“If you want a relationship with him or anything like that, then you’ve gotta talk to him about it. You do want a relationship with him, right?”

“Honestly…” He sighed and looked away, blushing in shame. “That’s the only thing I’m sure of right now.” Mary smiled cheerfully. 

“Then do it. When-“ The door opened, and Mary went silent. A few unknown faces left the room before Dave appeared. He leaned down in front of John slowly. 

“Class got out early. Were you okay out here?” He untied John’s leash and then moved an arm around his waist, helping him stand up. He swung his bag over his shoulder and then took John’s hand. John just looked down and followed his guidance. “I’m sorry for leaving you out here. I didn’t have much of choice. Once this trial is over, and Jade is free, we won’t have to do this anymore, okay?” John clung to Dave like usual and stared at the woman as he was led away. She waved a goodbye and smiled at him. John smiled back. They turned a corner, and that was the last time John ever saw ‘Mary’.


	14. Chapter 14

Large clumps of water splashed against the window over and over, creating a sound like a kitten’s paws running over a wooden floor. The small puddles of water shone a small glint of yellow, reflecting the light in the bedroom. The valley of tiny lakes of light showed a distorted image of John and the room around him. They were like little, sloppy portraits all along the cold pane of glass. Outside past the fallen raindrops was a dark sky full of clouds as dark as dust-bunnies. There wasn't a star in sight. The moon was the only source of light that could be seen shining through the clouds as they slowly moved across the ebony sky. John pressed his overheated cheek against the cool glass as grumbling was heard from above. 

He had never been a fan of the rain. He liked bright, sunny days and clear, starry nights that he could gaze up at with a grin. Storms always managed to bum him out. The darkness, the irritated sounds of the clouds, and tear-drop-like water that fell from the sky all made John feel gloomy and depressed. However, now, his feelings had changed. He was starting to enjoy it in an odd way. The world around him seemed angry and upset. It was as if the sky was finally letting out all of its sadness. The thought of not keeping it all in was incredibly soothing to John. It was more relieving than enjoyable to watch the storm.

He needed that type of release. He needed to just run away and scream at everyone with a hurricane of tears and snot pouring out of his eyes and nose. He knew that he needed this, but he definitely didn't want it. It was always incredibly embarrassing to cry in front of Dave. He had cried around him a couple times, but all that accomplished was making both him and John feel even worse than they already did. He didn't like it when Dave felt guilty or sympathetic, but it seemed like that was Dave's constant mood nowadays.

John wanted to fix this. He knew that all he had to do was tell Dave that he wasn't doing anything wrong. He just needed to reassure him with his words that everything was going alright, and that Dave was doing just fine. John wanted to talk to him. Talking was so beautiful. There were thousands of English words that could form several sentences that could perfectly express the way he felt about Dave and the stupid situation he was in, but he couldn't figure out which set of sentences were best. There were thousands of words, and that was overwhelming. He couldn't pick. He knew what he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to say it. 

He closed his eyes for longer than necessary and then opened them again to gaze back out at the dark word outside the little window. He wrapped his arms around himself. The storm was making him a little chilly. A shiver ran through his small frame before he cuddled back up against the white wall and relished in the angry sounds of the world. He didn't really notice the footsteps coming closer to him. 

"John, you look pathetic," Dave said with a shake of his head. "Do you really have to just stare out the window while it rains? You're acting like some lovesick teenager in a chick flick." John felt the bed dip on the edge as Dave sat down. He could feel Dave’s heat even if he was only a few feet away. The man radiated a comforting warmth at all times. The dark-haired male was drawn towards it, yet he managed to stay in place. Long, calloused fingers wrapped around a remote and pressed a button. 

John pried his now icy, pink cheek away from the window as the screen flashed light gray and then turned into detailed images. "At least watch T.V. or something." John was so sick of watching television. He internally groaned but made no real sound as he pulled back the blankets and crawled underneath them. Dave flipped through the shows while humming to himself, his low voice rumbling low like a plucked string on an acoustic guitar.

"Married at First Sight, Blue's Clues, Jeopardy... Really, Jeopardy? Con Air, god that movie sucks, My Twin Slaves, Dr. Phil. Ugh, there's nothing on." The blonde tossed the remote towards John. "Here, watch some Dr. Phil or something. You could learn a thing or two from him. He’s a respectable man. Sometimes I call him papa when no one’s listening to fill the gap in my chest of never having a real father. I’m like a gold mine for daddy issues... I need to call Rose again. She finally found a lawyer. Apparently the guy's won or satisfied his clients 75% of the time during his trials. Pretty good, right? I gotta make sure his prices are okay though. We saved up a shit ton of money, but lawyers are expensive as hell." 

He sighed heavily and then stood back up. John pulled the blankets up to his chin as Dave left the room. He waited a moment and then hesitantly grabbed the remote. He flipped back a few channels and smiled. Con Air appeared on the screen. He hadn't seen this movie in forever, and it was only about fifteen minutes in. He really loved this movie when he was around thirteen, and it still had a special place in his heart. Maybe a little too special because by the end of the movie, his throat was dry, and his eyes were watering. 

Thunder cracked all around John as tears slipped out of his eyes, rolled out of his puffy eyes and down his flushed cheeks. The familiar song in the background began to get louder as the screen turned black and the credits rolled. He hiccuped and wiped his cheeks frantically, but the tears weren't stopping. He sat up and pulled his knees to his chest. Watching that movie had been a terrible idea. It brought back too many memories of his father and his old acquaintances in middle school. The more he listened to the song and read the familiar names on the black screen, the more he remembered just how much he missed his old life. 

His heart jumped desperately in his chest as his ragged breathing grew louder and louder. He pulled his legs to his chest and rested his forehead on his knees. He was angry at himself for letting his emotions get the best of him. He tugged at his hair in irritation, trying to keep himself quiet. He didn't know what he would do if Dave-

"John?" The man's voice was softer than brand new cotton pillows. John's wet, blue eyes popped open wide. Footsteps on the carpet swiftly approached him. John wanted to scream. This was too embarrassing. He knew that Dave was going to make a smug comment about how the ‘suckiness’ of that movie would have made him cry too. He just knew that he was going to toss John a box of tissues and then change the channel to something funny to try and cheer him up. He doubted Dave would ever understand him, but then again, John wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted him to.

Warm, long arms wrapped around John suddenly as Dave pulled him against his chest. John remained completely still. It took him a moment to register that Dave had actually just hugged him. No, it wasn't just a hug. It was an embrace. A warm, soft, lovely smelling embrace. Heated, hard fingers made their way into a dark mess of soft hair and ran through the strands slowly. 

"It's okay," the blonde said quietly, his voice just barely above a whisper. John wasn't crying anymore, but he did remain frozen. "I know you hate me, and I'm sorry, but... You're kinda stuck with me for a while. I'm here for you. You can talk to me... Even if you don't want to, it might be good for you. You shouldn't keep everything bundled up inside." He rubbed the other's back a little awkwardly, but John knew that it was supposed to be soothing. 

Bony, pale arms shakily wrapped around the tall man who held him. He nuzzled his cheek against Dave's chest and took a deep breath. This was it. It was time to finally speak. John knew what to say. He was just going to blurt everything out. He would shout that he loved Dave and how he was sorry and how much he just wanted to hold him and care for him because he already cared for Dave. He cared for him so much. His thin, pink lips slowly opened. 

"Touch my body~" Dave's cellphone rang. John clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on the person that he loved more than anything and everything in the world. 

"Are you fucking kidding me? Fuck-I'm sorry, John,” Dave’s voice was back to a regular volume. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone. He kept his arms firmly around John and gave his back another loving rub. John kept his face pressed against Dave’s chest, his closed lips pulled into a pout.

"Hey, Rose. I'm kind of in the middle of something right now... Okay... What? Did you tell her that was a bad idea?... Yeah, but that just makes the odds worse for her... Goddammit, okay. Two weeks then?... God, okay... Yeah, you too. Later." He hung up the phone and then pet through John's hair a little more. John pushed his head up to rest it under Dave's chin. His skin on his neck was incredibly soft. "So the trial's in two weeks now instead of two months. Good going, Jade." Dave rested his chin down on the top of John's head, enveloping the slave in warmth, softness, and the soothing scent of cheap cologne that only his owner could provide. John felt Dave's Adam's apple bob and his heartbeat begin to grow louder. Dave chuckled quietly. "You think that's funny, huh? I'll have you know that lots of people think I'm attractive." John was one of those people. "I'm almost offended that you would laugh at that. So rude, John." The man held a grin between his cheeks that were squished together due to being pressed against Dave's chest and neck.

Dave continued to hold John and speak nonsense to him for another few minutes before gently pulling back. John quickly moved forwards and prolonged the comforting hug before pulling away not too much later. There were a few times that night where John attempted to speak, but he just couldn't do it. The words wouldn't come out. 

The same circumstances seemed to repeat day after day for two weeks straight. John wanted to speak, but the words wouldn't come. He just didn't feel justified enough to let the words fall off his tongue. Day after day he let Mary down by not saying anything at all. He was disappointed in himself. Finally after what felt like an eternity, the day came for the trial. 

Dave's alarm went off so early that morning that it was still dark outside. Waking up before the sun was not something John was all too fond of. However, the blue-eyed man stayed awake with a frown as he watched Dave grab a towel and then walk into the bathroom. He wondered how the day was going to go. He didn't know much about Dave's friend, Jade, but he could tell Dave had been dreading this trial. Dave may have never said it directly, but John knew he was nervous about today. 

John pulled the blankets up higher to hide himself as Dave exited the bathroom drenched in water and squeaky clean. He could have sworn that his crush was just getting hotter by the second. He slowly lowered the blankets to look over Dave's toned yet slender back as the man pulled on a pair of black dress pants and a maroon button-up. He put on a white tie and then walked back to the bathroom. When he finally walked over to John, his hair was slicked down with more gel than usual, and he was wearing much more cologne than necessary. John was nearly drooling at how dashing Dave looked dressed up.

"Get up, good lookin'. Time to get you dressed up for court," the blonde announced in a voice that lacked even a slight under tone of cheeriness. John slowly sat up, already knowing today was going to be long and stressful. He walked into the bathroom and tiredly removed all of his clothing. He lowered himself into clear, warm water that slid over his skin with warmth and a gentle grip. He looked over at Dave as his hair was shampooed. His eyes drooped with tiredness and lust as he leaned into Dave’s large hands as they massaged his head. His eyes fell shut as water slipped over his hair and shoulders.

He stood when he was clean and allowed Dave to dry him off with a soft towel. His body moved into Dave's large hands, feeling his warmth through the towel and yearning for his touch. He sighed softly and looked at himself in the mirror when Dave blow dried his hair. John didn't even bother to pat down his fluffy hair since he knew Dave would do it for him, and he did.

Dave led John back into the bathroom and dressed him in cotton boxers, blue jeans, and and a gray, flannel shirt. He wondered why the other was dressing him so unprofessionally. He understood that Dave didn't have fancy clothes for him, so John had been hoping that Dave was just going to dress him up in his own clothes again. John kind of liked wearing Dave's clothes. They were clean, so they didn't smell like him, but just knowing that they were Dave's made him feel all tingly inside.

"There. You look good," Dave stated quietly as he adjusted John's open collar. He looked down at his watch and groaned. "Dammit. I knew we should've gotten up earlier. Looks like we're skipping breakfast this morning. Sorry, John, but we've gotta get going. I'll pick you up something special on the way home, okay?" He grabbed John's leash and then attached it to his collar.

He led them out the door and walked John down the street. The sky was a deep, rich purple color that faded into black at the top of the sky. Most of the stars in the sky were still visible and shining brightly. John couldn’t believe that they were leaving the house so early. He hadn’t gone outside so early since his remaining days in High school. He readjusted his grip on Dave’s hand and pressed against his side a little more since it was still a little chilly this morning.

Dave turned his head to look over at John, but John didn’t bother looking back over to the blonde. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Dave was keeping his expression completely blank. He wondered how he managed to do that. John used to be incredibly expressive and used lots of colorful tones in his speech. He wanted everyone around him to know what he was thinking and how he was feeling. It usually calmed the people around him. They’d often copy John’s bright smile and relaxed posture. 

He wasn’t as expressive as he used to be since he had been protesting communicating with Dave or anyone else that supported slavery for that matter, but he still couldn’t always keep a straight face. John was just constantly overflowing with waterfalls of emotion, positive, negative, or anything in between. He not only couldn’t understand why Dave chose to hide his emotions and keep a straight face all of the time but also how he did it. It intrigued John most of all, but he also applauded Dave’s ability. He had thought to himself before that Dave may be a good actor, but he doubted that he would if Dave’s acting skills only contained the ability to keep himself emotionless.

As they walked through the little town, they passed a small, white house with a large porch. An old man with stubble and a look of fear in his eyes sat out on a rocking chair with a musket in his lap. He rocked back and forth as he stared out at the young slave and equally young slave owner. Dave moved to the other side of John without a word. John eyed a sign that read, 'KEEP OUT' in large, dark red letters. He wondered how many other paranoid people were sitting on their porches this morning. There hadn't been any more terrorist attacks since New Years, but that just seemed to make everyone more anxious for the next one. 

John could see Rose’s house in the distance. He hoped this trial went alright. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if the trial didn’t go right. Dave might breakdown crying or worse, go off on the judge and make a scene. It pained the dark-haired man to imagine Dave getting dragged away by prison guards kicking and screaming. He made a mental note to keep a firm grip on Dave’s hand the entire trial and try his best to keep him calm and in his seat at least. He thoughtlessly squeezed Dave’s hand as they walked. 

“It’s okay,” Dave said quietly. He rubbed the back of John’s hand with his thumb. “This really shouldn’t take too long. Don’t worry.” They walked up to Rose’s door, and Dave knocked. Kanaya opened the door and gave a shy, nervous smile to Dave. The expression was so obviously forced that it was painful to look at. Kanaya was dressed in a long, black dress that went to the ground. The dress had red trim, and the whole thing went perfectly with her shoes and make-up. John thought to himself that she was incredibly beautiful. 

“Welcome, Dave, John. Rose will be ready in just a moment. I will start the car now. You two look very nice this morning,” she stated. 

“Thanks, Kanaya. You don’t look too bad yourself,” Dave said. John moved his eyes to the ground and kept his head down. Dave continued to rub his thumb over John’s hand. John’s shoulders visibly relaxed as his stomach filled with butterflies. Kanaya unlocked the car, and Dave hopped inside. John went in on the other side and buckled in quickly. Rose walked out a couple minutes later. She was holding a purple messenger bag and looked alert. 

“Wow, Rose, almost fell asleep over here. You took so long,” Dave teased. Rose rolled her violet eyes and sat back in her seat. 

“Putting on a dress takes longer than sloppily throwing on that wrinkly shirt,” she teased right back. Dave placed his hand on his chest and opened his mouth like a fish.

“Why, I never,” he said monotone. He looked over to John with his eyebrows furrowed together slightly. John could barely see this sign of expression between Dave’s bangs and the top of his sunglasses. “My shirt isn’t wrinkly, right?” The question was directed to John, but the man just shrugged and looked away with a shy expression. He fiddled with his fingers and regretted not telling the other that he looked incredibly handsome.

“Do not worry, Dave. I did not lie earlier when I complimented your appearance. Rose is only pushing your buttons as your playful sister tends to,” Kanaya reassured Dave as she readjusted rear view mirror. 

“At least Kanaya loves me,” the blonde commented while looking over at Rose. She rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat. Her chest rose and fell as she took a deep breath. It was quiet for a couple minutes as Kanaya backed the car out of the driveway and then began the drive down to the courthouse. 

“I have been talking with the attorney quite often, and he believes that he will be able to get Jade out on community service without jail time. He warned me that she might have to serve a short sentence, but he strongly doubts that she will be stuck with any more than one and a half years,” Rose explained. Dave visibly relaxed in his seat. 

“Good. I really hope this guy isn’t all talk and no walk,” he replied. 

“Well, if he doesn’t walk today, then I’ll make sure that he’ll never walk again,” Rose snarled. Dave snickered, and Kanaya chuckled. 

“Nice one,” he said with a breathy laugh on his words. John loved it when Dave laughed. It was so pure and quiet. His wide chest would shake with each uneven breath, and John’s heart would just melt with affection. The three continued to chat quietly throughout the next ten minutes they spent in the car. All of them were calmer during this time, but the air of nervousness never left. 

When they finally arrived, Dave held onto John’s leash and guided him inside the courthouse. The building was incredibly large and had artistic, wooden furnishings along the walls and ceiling. John looked around the beautiful building with interest. There were only a few people walking around at such an early hour. Each footstep the strangers took echoed around the open space. John stared down at the marble floor as they walked up each step on a long, spiraling staircase. Silence had fallen over the trio once more. 

John reached for Dave’s hand, but the other didn’t get the message and kept it swaying at his side. John swallowed thickly and laced his hands together awkwardly. The courtroom was stuffy and smelled like dust. This was the timid male’s first time in a courtroom, and it disappointed him to see that it was nothing like the courtroom in Ghostbusters 2, one of his all time favorite movies. There were no windows like in the movie, and everyone here looked unfamiliar and kind of scary. Even Dave’s attitude was unfamiliar. His tenseness and uneasiness made John feel nauseous. The blonde’s behavior was nothing like Bill Murry’s snarky, calm, everything-is-going-to-turn-out-okay appearance. He was tense, scared, worried, shoulders raised and fingers slick with sweat fiddling with his tie. 

John was separated from his owner in a flash of brown and gray. His leash was tied to a chair in the audience area, and he was forced to watch with wide, concerned, blue eyes as his crush walked to the front of the courtroom to sit with his sister. Kanaya sat down next to John and gently patted his hand with a tiny smile obviously was meant to be reassuring. John’s eyebrows were pulled downwards and then pointed up. He looked away from the woman and wrapped his arms around himself. This wasn’t good. He needed to be with Dave. He needed to be with him just in case this all went south. 

A boom pounded over the walls as the large, brown doors opened suddenly. John whipped his head around to see a fairly curvy woman dressed in a dark green dress and a black over-jacket enter the courtroom. Her hands were cuffed together in front of her, and her head was down in shame, black, fluffy bangs fallen forwards and covering mysterious eyes underneath thick, round glasses. On either side of her were large men with hairy arms and bulging muscles. They were holding her thin arms firmly, causing tan skin to turn white under thick, calloused muscles. John’s mind thought of Dave’s voice whispering a silly comparison of two sumo wrestlers holding a barbie. The thought calmed him but not by much.

The woman was led to the defendant’s seat. She sat down with her shoulders hunched. Dave’s head followed her every movement. Not being able to see Dave’s face was making John more and more tense. The pads of John’s fingertips dug into his pants as he watched a tall, confident-looking man walk in front of the room with his head held high. This man adjusted his maroon and blue, patterned tie and opened his briefcase. He leaned over to Rose and began speaking with her, but John couldn't hear their conversation. The judge was an old man with a gray beard and thinning hair that just looked like he wanted to go home. He wasn’t the only one with this tired appearance. 

Now, John wasn’t a huge fan of courtroom television. Judge Judy was one of the few shows featured on Antenna T.V., so he always had the option to watch it as he did his homework after school, but he rarely did. He always thought the cases on there were boring and didn’t hold much meaning. He didn’t really care whether or not some random, snobby-looking man was paid back after a scrawny teenager wrecked his car thanks to college shenanigans. It was just boring to him, and there wasn’t very much emotion behind it other than greed and the thirst for revenge. 

However, this was nothing like watching Judge Judy at four o’clock on a lazy, Wednesday afternoon. The entire room was full of emotion. Fear, anxiousness, anger, despair, and disappointed bounced off the walls like the bubbles of water in a boiling pot on the stove. The room was far too hot. John had to unbutton one of the top buttons on his shirt to stop the sweat from piling up too much and soaking through his shirt. Voices of passion and logic echoed off the walls, explaining the case in detail. Every word that fell out of the witness’ or attorney’s mouth clearly influenced both the judge and the crowd of people in the jury. 

Pools of sparkling blue stayed locked on a mop of familiar blonde hair as loud footsteps clanked against the ground. Everything in that small, hot room felt louder, harsher, more intense. He refused to take his eyes off of Dave for a while, subconsciously believing that he could calm the other by sending waves of emotional support telepathically. He only looked away to glance at the images of a black-haired girl holding a mysterious black suitcase and hiding her face. The harsh lines on the judges face became more severe with suspicion as more and more images of the same girl with different cases appeared on the projected screen. The seasons changed around her as did the environments, but the strangeness of the pictures always stayed the same. 

When John looked back to Dave, he was leaning forwards and had his elbows rested on his knees. Long, pale fingers were tangled in his hair, and he appeared to be trembling slightly, but it was hard to tell at John’s distance. His stomach growled quietly, and a frown pulled down at his lips. Time felt different in the courtroom. It was still moving at a normal pace and didn’t seem to pass by too slowly or quickly, but it was more noticeable somehow. Each minute spend collecting facts and data changed the outcome of the decision as to what to do with Jade, thus every minute weighed heavy and loomed over the heads of all in the room. 

It took four hours, three witnesses, and six breaks, but a decision was finally made. Kanaya reached a shaky hand over to John’s lap as the judge sat up in his chair. John took her hand and held it in both of his. He clenched his teeth as his eyes bounced around the room. Rose had placed a hand on Dave’s arm, and Dave had placed his other hand down over it. The two were completely still as they stared at the judge. Jade was stiff as a board, eyes still down as they had been during the entire trial. 

“I hereby declare the defendant, Jade Harley, guilty of all charges,” the judge stated firmly. All was still as they waited for the sentence. The attorney still seemed confident as he sat in the front. “I sentence you to two years jail time with the opportunity of early-” Rose’s shoulders shook, and Dave’s arm shakily went around her shoulders. “Release upon good behavior. You are dismissed.” The gavel banged against the table, making John jump a bit. That was it. It was over. He looked over to Kanaya whose expression was blank. His eyes went back to Jade to see how she was reacting, and for the first time in four hours, she lifted her head, revealing bright, green eyes and long, dark eyelashes coated in only a small amount of mascara that had managed to smug due to a couple spare tears. 

John’s heart sank in his chest. Jade...was beautiful. He suddenly felt sick, more sick than he had felt this entire trial. The judge may have said that she had an opportunity for early release, but everyone in the courtroom knew that was not the case. Her fate was sealed, and there was no possible way for her to escape it, for Dave, Rose, and Kanaya to ever see their friend the same way again, if ever again. White, slightly crooked teeth clenched together as more gray tears poured down Jade's cheeks, each bead of sadness as dark as the clouds John had gazed upon only two weeks ago. Even at his distance, he could see the emotion in Jade's eyes begin to deepen and fill with the sadness and helplessness that held the same unfortunate familiarity as John's old friends at T.U.S.S. He wondered how long the sadness would last before it faded into the lost forests of despair that Jake held in his dry eyes. Her crying was not that of a release but of sadness for the fact that she would never be released from the prison bars of slavery that she would soon be shackled in.


	15. Emotionless Blond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter countless times, and today I just decided to go with this version. I hope you like it.

The courtroom filled with light chatter as people began to stand and exit the room. Jade was dragged away with silent tears trickling down her cheeks. John hurried to stand up. He wanted to be with Dave after he had heard such devastating news. He began to desperately untie his leash. Kanaya stood up as well and placed a hand on John’s shoulder. She shook her head at him as if disappointed but didn’t reach for his hands to stop him.

“Please restrain yourself. You will be back home soon. I’m sure Dave is already having a hard time right now. Running away now won’t do anything but upset him,” she explained. She didn’t seem scared about what Dave might do. She really just looked tired. It was a calm request for John to not hurt Dave’s feelings anymore than they already were. John rolled his eyes and then squeezed the bar in front of him in anger. Kanaya didn’t understand, but she didn’t mean any harm at all. John couldn’t bring himself to be upset with her over this.

The short man waited anxiously as Dave made his way over to his row, moving painfully slowly as he weaved his way through the crowd of molasses. The tall male was walking with his head tilted down, and he wasn’t speaking to Rose. He wasn’t even facing her. He walked up to John and swiftly untied the leash. Blue eyes stared up into an abyss of black shades for a moment, searching for emotion. He was unreadable. John grabbed Dave’s hand and held it in both of his. 

Dave locked the end of John’s leash onto his belt and then guided him out of the courtroom. Each step seemed like an eternity. John clung to Dave as they finally were freed. Kanaya waved at the two with an expression of irritation that she couldn’t hide and then hurried off with Rose. Relief flooded over John as they exited the courthouse. The cool, outside air felt incredible on his skin and in his lungs. The two made their way through the town sprinkled with crowds of people here and there. John had felt relaxed and a little better until he realized that something was off.

Dave wasn’t talking. He looked over at the blond whose head was still down. John gave Dave’s hand that was sandwiched in between both of his hands a little squeeze of reassurance. He stared at him for a moment later, hoping to spark some sort of reaction out of him, but he was given nothing. The blue eyed man was a little uncomfortable to say the least. He perked up at the sight of a soup and sandwich shop. Dave led John inside and walked up to the front counter. John looked at the menu hanging up on the wall with interest. It was a plain menu with a background that looked as if someone had spilled coffee on it. It was comforting in a way. 

“Two bowls of tomato soup and two ham sandwiches,” Dave said in a voice that held a small amount of sadness underneath his attempt at staying monotone. John looked forwards once more to meet eye-contact with a middle aged, chubby woman. She looked slightly concerned. John didn’t blame her. He took a deep breath in an attempt to cleanse himself of all this discomfort, but when he did so, he smelled something incredible. His eyes darted downwards to the counter. John leaned forwards slightly with a shy expression. There were freshly baked cookies on the counter, and they smelled of chocolate. He looked over to Dave and then back at the cookies. He fiddled with his fingers and then looked back at Dave as the cashier typed in their order. The woman looked back up at Dave. 

“Will that be all?” she asked. Dave pointed to the cookies on the counter. 

“Actually, I’d like three cookies too. No nuts,” he added.

“Are you nuts? The peanut, chocolate chip cookies are the best,” the woman responded with a smile as she handed Dave the receipt. John wanted to high five this person. Not only was that a brilliantly placed pun, but she was also trying to make Dave feel better, and John really wanted Dave to feel better. 

“He uh, he has an allergy.” Dave looked away. A couple minutes later a brown, paper bag was handed to the slave owner, and the two made their way back to the apartment in silence. John was unlocked from Dave’s belt once they were inside, and he quickly walked back to the bedroom. He had missed the softness of Dave’s bed. He sat down on it and waited for the other to chain him back down. Dave made his way to John and handed him a sandwich and his bowl of soup. 

John eagerly took off the wrappings of the sandwich and began to tear away at the delicious food. Skipping breakfast had made him incredibly hungry. As he chowed down, Dave walked into the kitchen. A few minutes passed before the blond returned with his half-eaten sandwich in his left hand. John had already finished his sandwich and was nearly done with his soup. The blond sighed softly and placed the cookies in front of John. 

The two ate in pure silence for a while. John’s eyes stayed on the floor. When they both finished eating, Dave took away their empty wrappers and plastic bowls, tossing them in the trash before returning to John. The dark-haired man was thoughtlessly munching on a cookie. Dave walked over to John and sat down only a couple inches away from him. John turned his head with confusion just in time to see the glimmer of a key in Dave’s hand. John’s collar suddenly unlocked. Dave grabbed it and gently took it off of John. John swallowed the hunk of cookie in his mouth and stared at his crush with confusion. Dave sat on his knees with his head down and his hands squeezing his thighs. 

“I’m sorry,” he said with sincerity. “I am so, so fucking sorry.” His voice broke on the second ‘so’. John lowered his cookie and then set it aside. 

“It’s okay,” John whispered. Dave’s jaw dropped, and his lips parted slightly. John took Dave’s hands in his own and gave him a tiny smile. “It’s okay.” His words were a little louder the second time as his voice tried to adjust to being used again. The corner of Dave’s lip switched from a smirk to a half frown several times before a firm frown overtook his features. 

“John?”

“Yeah?” He leaned forwards, eager to listen to the other and engage him in conversation once more.

“Do you hate me?” His words were high and broken. All of the air in the room suddenly grew ice cold as Dave’s grip tightened on John’s hands. 

“Of course not,” he answered with a grin and a tiny laugh. “I really like you, Dave.” And with just those words, Dave’s chest began to jolt as he hunched over. Loud, broken sobs escaped from the once seemingly emotionless blond. Tears poured out of his eyes like broken dams, flooding his quickly darkening cheeks. John’s arms, warm like an old blanket wrapped around Dave and held him against his chest. The tall man pressed his cheek against John’s chest and fell into his touch. John rubbed his back slowly. 

“It’s okay. You can cry.” An especially loud whine erupted from Dave after these words were uttered. His whole body was trembling, his shoulders jumping, and his fingers helplessly clinging to John’s shirt, wrinkling the back of it while his tears soaked the front. John didn’t mind. He knew it was good to cry now and then. However, it was incredibly painful to hear Dave cry. He was loud and sounded helpless, whining and letting out choked sobs and wails. “Just let it all out.”

“It-It feels so good to hear your voice,” Dave whined, pressing his sunglasses against John’s chest in an uncomfortable fashion. John reached down and very delicately removed them. This allowed for the weeping man to cling even tighter to the other. John chuckled quietly and went back to soothingly rubbing Dave’s back. “Please… don’t ever do that again.”

“You like hearing my voice that much, huh? I know that I am awesome, but I’m surprised you missed hearing my expert movie reviews that much.” Dave gave John a little squeeze. 

“You’re a dork,” Dave said in an almost normal voice.

“You are too,” John giggled out as he set Dave’s sunglasses on the bedside table. Dave chuckled and kept a hold of John. The two were quiet for a bit as Dave silently allowed tears to roll down his puffy, pink cheeks. 

“I’m scared for Jade.” John rubbed his hand over Dave’s back. 

“I know you are.” Thin, long fingers slipped into soft locks of blond hair. He rubbed through the silky strands tenderly, sensing how sensitive and fragile the other was in this moment.

“Do you think she’ll...” Dave trailed off. With great sorrow and a quiet voice, John answered,

“Yeah.” The man in John’s arms began to jolt with sobs once more, whines and chokes falling from his lips. John thought about saying that it wouldn’t be too bad, but he knew that was wrong. Being a slave was one of the worst things that could happen to a person. The two sat in silence for a couple minutes while Dave cried and cried in John’s warm arms. “The place I went to wasn’t too bad. I was able to make friends with a couple other slaves, and I met with a therapist once a week to keep me from completely losing my mind. It wasn’t too bad, but most people aren’t lucky enough to be sold at T.U.S.S.”

John paused for a moment to reevaluate what he was saying. He really doubted that made Dave feel any better at all. In fact, he was beginning to think it just made him feel worse. The blond’s grip on John had tightened, squeezing him like a stuffed bear. He pulled back his head a little to look up at John with red eyes shining with tears. He sniffled loudly as he readjusted himself to lay his head on John’s shoulder but still manage to look up at him. John pulled out his legs from underneath himself and sprawled them out, allowing for Dave to crawl into his lap. 

He wasn’t light, but he wasn’t too heavy either. He left a comfortable pressure on John’s thighs and radiated with warmth. John rested his chin on Dave’s head, relishing in the feeling of silky hair underneath his chin and neck. Warm hands rubbed down Dave’s firm back full of muscles. Dave’s fingers curled into the bottom of John’s shirt. 

“What did you do?” Dave asked after a long while. His voice was soft and shy. John froze his movements for only a moment before continuing to rub the other soothingly. 

“I… I didn’t do anything,” he whispered as if it were a long kept secret. The words sounded foreign to him yet true, as if he had waited for a long, long time to finally confess this hidden truth. Dave tilted his head up to look at John. 

“Were you framed?” John’s slightly shaky fingers tangled into locks of gold. He shook his head, blue eyes full of despair sparking with emotion.

“My dad, he sold me.” Dave lifted his head and gazed up at John. Water poured out of his eyes in heavy waves like that on a stormy night in the ocean. A large, warm hand was placed on John’s chest. 

“What?” the blond choked out, more and more tears pouring down his cheeks. “No, that’s… No. It’s-”

“It was legal when I was sold,” John whispered, closing his eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me? How could- That’s not fair.” The taller male’s voice was broken completely now, high, squeaky, and full of disbelief. John’s eyes popped open.

“None of it’s fair, Dave. Jade did commit a crime, and we all know that she doesn’t deserve this. No one fucking deserves this. To be ripped from your home on your birthday, thrown into a van, and-and-” Dave was sobbing again, choking on his spit as tears and snot ran down his face. John shushed him and reached for the box of tissues Dave always kept on the bedside table. He pulled out a tissue and gently wiped at his red cheeks. 

“It’s okay,” John shushed. He pulled the trembling man against his chest and rubbed his back. 

“No, it’s not!” Dave cried out, his words slurred with his tears. “It’s not fuckin’ fair. It’s not okay. None of this is.” John shushed him more and held him tightly against his chest. The blond sputtered out breaths as he sobbed uncontrollably. 

“Breathe,” he whispered to his crush. Dave took in a messy breath and then rested his chin back on John’s shoulder, still shaking. 

“I’ve been so fucking bad to you,” he whimpered. “I fucking molested you. I’m a fucking rapist. A mother fucking nipple licking-” John drowned out his words by shushing him. 

“I forgive you.”

“Do you?”

“I do.”

“Yeah, but-” He hiccuped. “Should you?” John’s fingers made their way back into Dave’s hair.

“Dave, you’re a good person,” he began. 

“No, I’m not. I’m a fucking mess having a breakdown in my slave’s arms because I know I’m a shitty person. I make so many stupid fucking mistakes.” John tightened his grip on Dave.

“Don’t talk about yourself like that. You grew up a certain way. You couldn’t help it.”

“Yes, I could. I saw the way Bro used to treat Lil’ Cal when I was growing up, yet here I am doing the exact same thing to you every day. I’m such a fucking hypocritical...” His words slurred once more and became incomprehensible as he continued to speak. John had a feeling Dave needed to get these feelings out too just as badly as John needed to get out his own.

“Who’s Cal?” Dave sniffled loudly. 

“He was my bro’s slave when I was growing up. He died when I was five.. Normally Bro just kept him locked up in a cage. He was so thin.. I know he’s doing the same thing to Jake now too. Fuck, and that guy’s around our age, John.” John was silent for a moment. 

“I don’t like your bro.” Dave snickered and then sniffled.

“No one does,” he said with a sad smile. He looked away and then back at John. “Do you think I’m turning out just like him?” John removed a hand from Dave’s back to place it on his overheated cheek. 

“You are nothing like him,” he stated with sincerity. Dave’s bottom lip trembled as he nodded. “I… I really like you, Dave. A lot.” He patted away more of Dave’s tears, careful not to poke his eye or pat too hard.

“I like you too, John. I mean, Jesus, I’ve had such a stupid, schoolgirl crush on you since you got here. That’s why I can’t keep my hands and fucking mouth off of you, and John, I am a nipple person, okay? When I saw those perky, little babes in the bath, I wanted a taste. Fuck, I’m sorry. You’re just really cute. I-” John’s lips were suddenly on Dave’s. John’s eyes were tightly squeezed shut as he gently pressed down on Dave’s bottom lip which he had caught in between his own two lips. 

Dave’s lips were wet with snot and tears. He tasted like salt, and the kiss was a little gross taste-wise, but John couldn’t care less. The blond was warm, and his thin lips were pressing back against John. It was perfect. John pulled back gently, listening to the soft sound of their lips disconnecting. Dave suddenly inhaled through his mouth and looked at John with wide eyes. He was no longer crying. John grabbed Dave’s shoulders and delicately pushed him on his back on the bed. Dave stared up at John with confusion as the thin male straddled his hips.

“John?” John leaned down and wiped off Dave’s nose and mouth area with a tissue. The blond squeezed his eyes shut and cringed away in discomfort. John tossed the tissue away and then placed a hand on either of Dave’s cheeks. 

“Just be quiet,” he whispered as he leaned down. He kissed the other again, closing his eyes shut tightly and sinking into the warmth the other supplied. Dave moved his head to the side, but John followed his lips, prolonging the kiss. The blond groaned and gently pushed on John’s chest until he finally backed off. Dave stared up at John with wide, doe-like eyes. 

“No,” he stated firmly. “This isn’t right.” John‘s lips parted, blue eyes emptying romantic feelings and filling back up with despair.

“What do you mean? You just said you liked me. Don’t you want this?” Dave shook his head quickly. 

“I do, but… no, John. You don’t have feelings for me.” John felt the room around him grow cold. Was Dave really questioning the way he felt? He leaned down to kiss Dave’s forehead, but Dave kept his arms firm and held John away. “John, stop it. You don’t want this.” 

“Yes, I do. I know I haven’t talked this whole time, but I am talking now, and I like you a lot. I-I want to kiss you. Fuck, I wanna do more than just kiss you.”

“Oh my god..” Dave removed one hand from John’s shoulders to cover his mouth. “This is so fucked up.”

“No, it’s okay. I know the circumstances aren’t all that romantic,” John said with a quiet laugh. “But I’ve fallen for you, Dave. For all your rambles and your touches, and just- you. I like you, and I know I’m your slave, so it’s a little weird, but-” He laughed again. “You like me too, so it’s okay-”

“It’s not okay!” Dave yelled. He attempted to move away from John, but John tightened his thighs around him and held onto the sides of his shoulders. 

“You are not going anywhere.” John attempted to look angry and glare at the other, but it didn’t work. His expression was soft, and his eyes were caring. “You just confessed that you like me too.”

“That wasn’t a confession. That was- I-I shouldn’t have said that.” John rubbed Dave’s arms delicately. 

“But you did say that. I’m not asking you to be my lover, Dave. I’m just asking for some kisses. You look like you could use them.”

“So now this is about pity?”

“What? No, that’s not what I meant.”

“If you’re not asking to be my lover, then what are you asking to be, my slave? Don’t worry, John. You already are. I am legally allowed to rape you at any time.”

“That’s the thing! It wouldn’t be rape. I want to have sex with you. I really want to have sex with you.” This conversation was surprisingly not sexy. 

“Maybe in a different world, John, but not in this one.” More tears. John felt like crying too now. He wasn’t making Dave feel better. He was just making everything worse. He didn’t know what to do. “Could you please get off me?” John sighed before crawling off of Dave. He pulled the man into his arms before he could protest and pulled the blanket over them. Dave continued to tremble, but this position made it clear this wasn't because he was cold. 

"Is this okay?" Dave sniffled loudly and nodded, nuzzling his forehead against John's chest. "I'm gonna turn on the T.V. Why don't you try and sleep?" 

"It's too early to sleep," he whimpered. 

"But it's never too early to take a nap." John could use one too. "I'll stay right here, okay?"

"Okay." John turned on the television, letting Ellen play softly in the background. He rubbed Dave's back and pet his hair until the other settled down enough to finally fall asleep. John joined him not long after, also tuckered out from the day's events.


	16. Chapter 16

Two hours passed before John was roused from his sleep. Light was pouring in from the window, indicating to John that it was still daytime. He looked over to his right, and there was Dave. He was still asleep, laying on his side with his arms stretched out. John knew they had fallen asleep holding each other, but he guessed they had both rolled away from each other in their sleep. He had never slept holding someone before, so it made sense that he wouldn’t like the additional heat at first. He slowly sat up and leaned his back against the wall.

Dave was breathing softly. His pale lips were parted just slightly. The sight made John want to kiss him again, but he didn’t. He didn’t want Dave to push him away again and reject him with tears pouring down those crimson cheeks. Dave’s cheeks were rosy even now as he slept peacefully. John wanted to confess again. Dave had been under a lot of stress earlier. Maybe he just needed to calm down and get level headed before the two actually did something together. John wanted to try something, but he was also nervous to.

He swung his feet off the side of the bed and stood up. His collar and restraints were all gone, leaving him free to roam throughout the house. He decided to make tea for Dave. He knew the man was going to wake up cranky and depressed, so he wanted to comfort him from the moment he wakes up. It took the dark-haired male a short while to find the tea and a kettle. He was surprised by the kettle he had found. It had strange yet beautiful paintings on the side of it. He could recognized a few of the characters as Korean, but he had no idea what they meant.

He began to brew the tea and then leaned back against the wall in the kitchen. He couldn’t stop thinking about all the things that he and Dave had said to each other the night before. They had both been tired and full of angst. Frankly, John wasn’t surprised that it had gone terribly. However, he still wanted to fix it. His feelings for Dave weren’t going anywhere, and he had a strong suspicion that Dave had feelings for him too. He had directly said that he had a crush on John the night before. John couldn’t understand why kissing him had been a wrong action.

He really didn’t think that he was in the wrong. Last night had been like out of some crazy drama full of insane twists and turns. It seemed as if everything had been working for that moment, for the big kiss and confession, but then Dave ruined it. He just cried and said no and pushed John away, and yes, John knew that Dave was hurting a lot, but he was too. He was aching for affection and aching for Dave.

A soft buzzing pulled John out of his thoughts. Dave’s phone was on the counter, vibrating and threatening to make a much louder noise as it neared the edge of the counter. John took a step closer to it and then leaned up on his toes. He glanced into the bedroom and considered if he should wake up the other. He decided that Dave wasn’t ready to talk to anyone yet. A tiny huff left the man as he picked up the phone. His index finger hovered over the ‘END CALL’ button, but it froze upon seeing Rose’s name on the screen.

Rose. Rose knew Dave better than anyone else. John bet even Dave would admit that. Rose could tell John what was really going on in Dave’s head and why he had denied his confession. Wanting answers and not thinking of the consequences, John pressed the ‘ANSWER’ button just before the ringing stopped. Once the button had been pressed, he simply stared at the screen for a moment, realizing that there was no going back now. Slowly, he lifted the phone up to his ear.

“Hello?” he asked, volume just above that of a whisper.

“...John? Is that you?” Rose asked. She sounded normal. John wondered if she had been crying earlier too like Dave.

“Yeah, uh..” He trailed off, not sure what to say.

“I’m so very proud of you for speaking again. It’s both a relief and a pleasant surprise to hear your voice.”

“Thanks.. I think. So why did you call?”

“Oh, I was just going to check up on Dave. He and Jade were absurdly close when they were children. Is he doing alright?”

“He’s hanging in there but really upset still.”

“I can imagine.. I take that your return to speaking has cheered him up?” A tiny chuckle left John’s lips that still tingled with the warmth of Dave’s.

“About that.. I kind of.. told him that I kind of..like him? A lot?” Rose was quiet for what felt like hours before a snicker sounded through the small speaker of the phone.

“That is simply wonderful,” she said softly.

“No, it’s not!” John blushed in embarrassment and focused on keeping his voice down. “Dave said that he didn’t like me. Well, he said that he liked me, but when I said that I liked him too, he said that it wasn’t right, and that doesn’t make any sense because I said that I liked him, and he said that he liked me too, so you’d think that it’d be okay, but he said that it wasn’t okay and-”

“John, sweetie, slow down. It’s alright. Could I talk to Dave for a moment?” John stood up on his toes and looked into the bedroom again. Dave was sitting up with his back against the wall. He was holding the remote in his hand and flipping through the channels.

“Um..” John couldn’t bring himself to take the phone to Dave. He didn’t want to force the man into talking to his sister right now. He had no idea how close the blond was to having another breakdown. “He’s still asleep right now.”

“I see.”

“Can I...” he took a deep breath in and then let it out slowly. “You know Dave better than I do. Is he really just not into me?”

“I believe it’s fairly obvious that Dave has romantic feelings for you-”

“Then why doesn’t he want to date me? Why does this have to be so complicated? If he likes me, then why didn’t he just..” ‘Kiss me’ was what John wanted to say, but he couldn’t get the words out. Luckily, Rose didn’t seem to mind his embarrassing save.

“It’s because you’re his slave… He.. Dave...”

“Dave what?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” John was sick of this. He was sick of playing games and trying to figure everything out. He just wanted a direct answer for once. 

“What is!” His voice came out louder than he had wanted it to yet again.

“You’re his slave. He keeps you tied up in his house for several hours everyday. Maybe he sees you as a sad, little puppy that he has romantic feelings for, but what do you think Dave believes your emotions are? You’re underestimating him, John. Dave doesn’t just wander around like some idiot, never thinking about how others feel. He’s sympathetic, and sometimes it eats at him. What do you think Dave thinks of your feelings for him?”

“Obviously that they’re not valid,” John grumbled, angsty. 

“That isn’t true, and you know it. What do you like about Dave? Why do you feel so strongly for him? Is it perhaps, because of a deep desire to please him?” John thought about this for a moment. He wanted Dave to be happy. He wanted everyone to be happy. It was never fun to see someone upset, but he didn’t have an aching desire to make sure Dave was always happy and pleased with him. No, he just liked him. He liked his face, his voice, the funny things that he said, and all of the silly, random, little things that the surprisingly goofy blond did. 

“Uh...no?”

“Yes.” A quiet, almost disappointed sigh echoed through the phone. “He thinks you have Stockholm Syndrome,” she finally admitted.

“But I don’t!” Dave looked over at John. The dark-haired male took that as a sign that he was talking too loud. “I don’t have that.”

“I..” Another sigh left Rose, but this time it was less irritated. It sounded as if she had given up. “Then let him know that.”

“How?” John wasn’t entirely sure what that even meant. A chuckle sounded on the other end.

“I’m not sure, John.”

“You’ve been a big help today.” His words were fuzzy with sarcasm.

“I believe this is something you need to figure out for yourself.”

“O wise, woman. Please feed me more advice.” Perhaps Dave was rubbing off on John a little. “Anyways, I gotta go. Bye.” He hung up before Rose could respond. He knew she would ask for Dave to call her back later, but John just couldn’t do that for her. He wasn’t mad at the woman. He actually thought she was an okay person, despite her appreciation for the law that basically ruined his life of course. He wouldn’t tell Dave to call her back because he didn’t want to put that pressure on him. 

Dave needed to relax for a while. He was too high strung at the moment and making him call his prying yet sweet sister didn’t seem like a good course of action. John pushed himself onto his toes to reach the cabinet containing a collection of random coffee mugs. He pulled out two and filled each with tea. He wondered if Dave had actual tea cups.

He probably did considering that it would be ironic for a masculine man like Dave to own dainty, womanly tea cups. John could search for those later. Right now he just wanted to bring his crush some comfort food. He cleaned up the tiny mess he had made before carrying the cups into the bedroom. Bright red eyes still puffy from crying looked over to the shorter male. John cleared his throat as he crawled onto the bed. 

“Good morning, Dave!” he said cheerfully, holding a mug out to him. “I made you tea.” Fuck, he was definitely trying too hard to be happy. In truth, he was in a good mood. Well, that might be an overstatement, but he was definitely feeling better than he had in a long time. He had finally confessed to Dave, and even though things didn’t go too smoothly (probably due to his impeccable timing), he felt better not having that tearing him up inside and was determined to make something good come of it. 

Rose said that he needed to prove himself to Dave, to show him that he didn’t have Stockholm Syndrome. He doubted that would be an easy task, but he was determined to do it. John had always been a very determined person. That’s why he had such a sweet deal set up for him to go to college, and that was also why it sucked so much to have that deal taken away. He had worked so hard, but now he could never go to college or have a normal life. He shook his head. No, he wouldn’t let these thoughts take him over anymore. 

“Oh, uh, thanks, John,” Dave replied in a tiny voice. He took the mug from John and held it in both hands as he sipped it. “You have any idea how healthy this shit is? Like Japanese vitamins fueling your system. God damn magic I’m telling ya.” John chuckled. 

“I’m pretty sure the characters on the box were Korean, Dave.” The side of Dave’s lips curved upwards in an odd expression that was positive but not even close to a smile. 

“Dude, how do you know that? I thought you were white.” A bubbly laugh left John’s throat. The action ended up hurting his throat a bit, thus causing his smile to fade as he sipped his warm tea. Dave watched him expectedly. 

“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t know Korean if that’s what you think.”

“What am I supposed to think? You’re drinking tea sitting like an anime character, telling me that my wonderful, beloved tea isn’t from Japanese land.” John had been sitting on his knees, but he moved to sit Indian style instead, suddenly conscious of his position thanks to Dave’s light joking. 

“First of all, anime isn’t Korean.”

“God damn, you are an expert.” More laughter fell from John. This was nice. They were talking again, just like before all the collars and handcuffs. It was just him and Dave and the tiny cloud of awkwardness that sat between them that grew from Dave’s announced love of nipples. That little fact about Dave still surprised John. John was a man. Why did Dave like his nipples if he didn’t have breasts? Dave was weird, but John didn’t care too much. 

“I’ve been known to occasionally watch ‘the animes’,” John explained in a dramatic tone. 

“Is that so? I watch them too sometimes. Tokyo Ghoul is the shit.” 

“Death Note’s better.”

“Both shounen. You can’t compare them.” John was grinning brightly, his white teeth shining as he struggled to drink more of his tea. 

“What the hell does shounen mean?” Dave smirked and gestured to John nonchalantly. 

“I thought you were the expert here.” John shook his head and looked to the side. “But really, man, how can you tell the difference?” The blue-eyed man took a moment to collect himself before answering with a little more seriousness than before. 

“The shapes are different. Korean is more round while Japanese and Chinese have sharp lines and usually don’t have circles.” Dave bent his knees and rested his elbow on one casually. 

“Wait, then how can you tell the difference between Chinese and Japanese?”

“Oh, I can’t. A lot of Japanese and Chinese characters are actually exactly the same. I am pretty sure that Japanese writing came from Chinese writing.”

“That’s confusing as fuck.” 

“It really is.” John raised his dark eyebrows at Dave in agreement before focusing his attention back to the warm mug in his hands. They drank in silence for a short while, staring at the television but not really watching it.

“So, who were you talking to on the phone?” Dave broke the silence. 

“Don’t worry about it.” John didn’t feel as if he had been caught, and he didn’t think of this as a secret either. He just didn’t find it to be important information. 

“Come on, man, those are my minutes you were using.” John rolled his eyes. 

“Don’t play that game, Dave. There is no way you don’t have unlimited.”

“Fuck, you caught me red-handed, but really, who was it?”John let out a tiny breath. 

“Rose. She wanted to talk to you, but I beat her to it.” Dave set his empty mug down on his bedside table. 

“What did she want to talk to me about?” Dave didn’t appear to be aching to learn, but he had straightened up his back a bit more. 

“I think she just wanted to check up on you. I can’t really blame her. You were really messed up last night.” Dave pulled the blanket up his stomach again. 

“Don’t remind me.” John stared down at the mug in his hands and blankly watched the grains at the bottom of the cup swim back and forth like crusty leaves blowing in the autumn wind. 

“I can’t imagine what it would have been like for my friends. I just disappeared without a trace. I wasn’t even allowed to pack a bag..or finish the movie I was watching… I just had to go.. I tried to fight them off.” Dave’s brows furrowed, and he glanced down with sympathy. “I know, me, right? But you would’ve done it too. If someone tells you a random stranger is gonna control everything you do and shove their dick inside you, you are going to try and escape.” 

“How far did you get?” Dave’s voice came out as a whisper, clearly shy to interject into such an emotional subject. 

“I couldn’t even make it to the door..but the worst part of it all..was my dad.” Those vibrant oceans of blue in John’s eyes began to fill with salty water as he spoke. “He looked so.. desperate. Obviously he was. I mean, he fucking sold me.. He didn’t even look sorry. It was like he had been planning this for a long time, like my time had finally come, and he wouldn’t have to deal with me anymore.” Dave reached forwards and placed his sleep warm hand on John’s forearm.

“I’m sorry.” John’s eyes dragged from the bed to Dave’s face, riddled with sorrow and regret. John looked away from him.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like it’s your fault because it’s not. Your brother bought me and gave me to you. You didn’t have a choice in it. Did you even want a slave?” 

“God no, I wanted a Cadillac, not a person.” John attempted a smile but couldn’t form one. He believed Dave. 

“Besides, this was probably for the best. You’re a good person, and you’ve treated me well.”

“Don’t lie, man.” John glared at Dave. 

“I’m not lying. Don’t get me wrong. You did a lot of really annoying shit that I didn’t agree with. The collar, the chains, the touching, the ‘leaving me alone all day for hours’ thing. Yeah, that sucked, but it could have been a lot worse.”

“It could have better,” Dave added quickly. “I could have done so many things better, to make your life less shitty, but no, little ol’ fuck up, that’s me, just made things worse.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” John’s thumb ran up and down the side of his now cool mug as he spoke. “I like it better here than at T.U.S.S. I was in a cage for hours everyday, just getting stared at by random creeps. I had to waxed every month, and I had to go to therapy.”

“Therapy?” Dave asked.

“I’m not talking about it.”

“You don’t have to.” John’s relaxed his shoulders at that. He hadn’t noticed he had been hunching them up. 

“All I’m saying is..” Dave’s eyes appeared so bright and innocent as he stared into John’s. It was almost overwhelming, but it was nice too. “You messed up, but you didn’t mess me up. You shouldn’t blame yourself that much.” Silence fell over the two, but they continued looking at each other, having a wordless conversation with just their simple glances. 

“It’s about dinner time. Wanna order some pizza?” John’s eyes went wide. Now that he was talking, he could finally ask Dave a very, very important question that he had been meaning to bring up a long time ago. 

“Can we get stuffed crust?”

“Sure. It’s only about a buck more. Could you get my phone?”

“Get it yourself, lazy bum.” Dave snickered. 

“Fuck you. Fine.” John laughed as Dave moved onto his feet and walked to the kitchen. Dave looked better like that, standing and walking with a half smile on his face rather than curled up on the bed trying not to cry. In only about thirty minutes, the two men were sitting on the bed with a pizza box in between them, getting pizza grease all over their hands and arms because fuck plates and napkins. They were men. Dave had a slice of pizza in one hand and the remote in the other. 

“How can we have access to all of these shows and movies, but we can’t agree on one thing? You are way too picky,” John complained without any real irritation. 

“I’m picky? You’re the one who turned down Lilo and Stitch. What kind of asshole turns down Lilo and Stitch?”

“This asshole who has watched it way too many times while waiting for his sweetheart to come home.” Dave swallowed thickly. 

“Well, I’m here now and in the mood for Disney.”

“Dave.”

“What?” Dave took a large, sloppy bite out of his pizza, getting pizza sauce around his mouth and on his lips. 

“We gotta talk about, Mr. Sexy Pizza Man.” 

“No clue what you’re talking about.” John took a deep breath. It was now or never.

“I have feelings for you.”

“Eat your crust. That cost me an extra buck.”

“But I’m full.”

“Yeah, full of crap.”

“I ate all the cheese out.” Dave rolled his eyes theatrically. 

“I should have known!” he stated firmly. John chuckled. 

“Dave..”

“Yep, that’s what they put on my birth certificate. Thanks for asking. Q and A desk is now closed. Please come back tomorrow.”

“I’ll just ask again tomorrow if you’re gonna be a baby about this.” Dave’s expression softened. 

“It’s just not right. How we met, learned about each other and all that shit. It’s too fucked up. You can’t call sleeping in the same bed a date.” That was it!

“Then let’s go on a date.”

“Seriously? John, I-”

“Please, Dave. I’d offer to pay for it, but I’m not exactly allowed to work.” Dave set his slice down on the lid and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. 

“Where would we even go?” John thought long and hard about this, but he just didn’t know. “See what I mean?”

“I really want to go on a date with you. That way we can figure out if this is real or..” Dave leaned forwards.

“Or what?” John huffed.

“That way we can figure out if what he have is chemistry or a psychological.. Thing.” He had no idea how to pronounce the word Rose had said earlier. Dave was quiet for a moment. 

“Okay… Tell you what. I’ll give you.. Forty bucks. You can plan a date for us, take me anywhere.”

“Okay, but you have to take it seriously and really try to think of me that way.”

“I know what a date is, John. I will. Deal?”

“Deal.” John held out his hand for Dave to shake, and they shook greasy, pizza hands on it.


	17. How Ferhoodling

Planning a date did not sound hard. The whole point of it was just to do something with another person to get to know them better. It shouldn’t be difficult. It didn’t have to be expensive, but it didn’t have to be cheap either. It just had to be from the heart, but John’s heart didn’t seem to be spitting out any date ideas. He had no idea what he wanted to do or how he wanted to spend the money. The only thing he knew for sure was that he wanted the date to be outside of the apartment. He was very sick of staring at these stupid walls. Dave really needed to redecorate it.. 

Or John could just do it. Dave was in class right now anyways, and John didn’t feel like going today. He thought he would be a distraction anyways. No, he probably wouldn't be able to move the furniture with his wimpy arms. He had gained back some weight from living with Dave, but his muscle mass was still long gone because he spent so much time just laying around. John's mind shifted from date ideas to his appearance. He didn't think he was particularly attractive. Wasn't looking good part of having a date? With that in mind, he moved onto his feet and speedily walked to the bathroom. He halted just in front of the mirror and looked at himself. 

"Ew," he muttered. His skin was as pale as white sand, and his hair was long and an utter mess. His thin fingers gently brushed through his hair and quickly became caught on a tangle. Luckily, he pushed through the knot with ease, but he still felt gross. His hair had never been long before, and he certainly did not like it. It made him feel unkempt and dirty. With his thinner appearance, it also kind of made him look like a girl. John was not a girl and had never considered himself even a little feminine, so he was very uncomfortable. He opened the mirror to access the medicine cabinet in search of a brush. He didn't find one, but he did find a comb. He started right at the top of his hair and aggressively yanked downwards to pull out the knots. "Ow!" John's cheeks turned bright pink with irritation. That was it! He had to get a haircut. 

After struggling for far too long to get his hair neat, he pulled on his favorite flannel and a pair of pants. He needed to look nice if he was going to convince the general public that he was not a sex slave. The voice of the old woman who had threatened to call slave control still haunted him from time to time. He put on a pair of Dave's shoes and tied them as tightly as he could. He looked like a rebellious teenager, but that was better than looking like his crush's sex toy. He let out a slow breath before walking out the door, money tucked in his pocket. A warm breeze flew over John's cheeks as he exited the stuffy apartment. The air felt nice on his skin, but it wasn't particularly bright out. A quick glance at the sky informed him that it was overcast. 

Going outside always felt strange without Dave by his side. It was nice, but it was strange. Perhaps the strangest part of it all was that it had never been like this before. John used to spend most of his time alone. He would walk himself to work to make money for college or to the foodbank to gain volunteer hours to improve his application. He would walk to the store alone to buy himself dinner that he would eat alone. His father used to spend an absurd amount of time out of the house doing God knows what. Those memories that ached with the lack of company were still strong in his mind. How could they not be? That had been his life less than a year ago. Yet, somehow it felt strange to be alone now. He felt like a child directly disobeying the rules. His heartbeat pounded just a little faster, and a coat of coldness held down his once broad and proud shoulders. Things had not been great before, but in comparison to his present, his past was heaven, full of hope and motivation. 

Now what? Where would his life go? After all of his work to go to college, he never even graduated from high school. He never wore itchy robes and got to hold four years of work rolled up in a fancy tube his sweaty, right hand. It wasn't fair. How was that not obvious? How was this fair? This wasn't what he wanted. This was hell. Dave's angular, handsome face appeared in his mind, and he calmed down a small amount. These thoughts were overwhelming and made it hard to breathe, so he took in a deep breath and blocked them out. He was getting a haircut today. He was going to get a haircut and then go on a date with a beautiful blond. His steps slowed, and he looked around himself. No one seemed suspicious of him. 

The barber shop he found was small and familiar, likely part of a chain. He walked in with his shoulders back and went up to the counter. He gave his name and waited patiently for a barber to be ready. He grabbed a magazine full of male hairstyles and flipped through the pages. He had not thought over what hairstyle he wanted. He couldn't remember what his hairstyle had been before. He didn't have to wait for too long, which was a little alarming because he hadn't picked out a style yet. Regardless, he stood up and walked back to one of the numerous chairs. A tall man with thinning, snow white hair guided him to the chair. He held out the back of the seat out towards him with a warm smile on his round face. 

Wait a minute. 

John slowly sat on the chair and stared at the man behind him in the mirror. His stubby hands turned the chair forwards before wrapping the blanket around him delicately. As he spoke, the slave listened closely to his familiar voice. He had heard it before. The sound relaxed him but also startled him. Where did he know him from? He needed to figure this out and fast before slave abuse showed up and took him away in chains. He opened his mouth but then closed it. What could he say? He couldn't just ask. If this person knew he was a slave but didn't recognize him, John definitely didn't want to refresh his memory. The man definitely didn't recognize him yet. His features were too gentle and calm. 

"My name's Michael. What would you like me to do with your hair today? I see you have it grown out like a rockstar right now. Maybe you want a mohawk?" he asked quietly as to not to disturb the others in the shop. 

"I uh-" Wait, he remembered him! "Were you the guy that let me use your phone?" 

"Pardon me?" The much older gentleman asked. John laughed softly, instant relief flooding him.

"You let me use your phone once at the coffee shop. It didn't work unless it was plugged into the wall." Michael pulled away from John and gave a hardy laugh. 

"The old 'fake old phone'! Ah, I remember now."

"Thanks again for that by the way." 

"You're welcome. It's always nice to help another child of the Lord." 

"Yeah.." John had not thought about God in a long time, and he really didn't want to. "Uh, my hair. I do not want a mohawk."

"Darn, you coulda looked really cool." John laughed softly. He liked this guy, but he couldn't put his guard down. He needed to make sure he didn't found out that he was a slave. 

"I don't want to look that cool today. I just want to look respectable. I want all this hair gone."

"Do you want a buzz cut?" John shook his head quickly. 

"No way. I want to have some hair. You're a barber. What do you think would look good on me?" 

"A-"

"For real." The two chuckled softly. 

"I have something in mind." Michael moved away from the short man and grabbed a magazine. He flipped through a couple pages before showing John a picture of a man with short, black hair that stuck up in the front with a small amount of gel. It wasn't what John's hairstyle had been before, but he liked it. He allowed his hair to be trimmed quite a fair amount, but in the end, he decided to keep the front just a little longer. He liked it when it curled just a little at the ends. Once his hair was in clumps on the ground and his neck was cool, he stared at himself in the mirror. He felt better about himself than he had in a long time. His over-sized shoes clomped on the ground as he hopped off of the chair and onto the ground. 

He pulled out his wad of money and walked to the counter. He thought briefly of his old wallet. It had been dark green, and he bought already worn out from a thrift store, but he had loved it nonetheless. He wondered what happened to his old things now that his father was dead. Had Susan sold his items whenever she moved to Canada, or was it all still there eerily enough? He doubted he would ever know. He paid for his cut and was handed a business card from Michael. The man smiled softly at him and wished him luck with his new style as John stuffed the remaining money and card in his pocket.

John spent the rest of his time away from Dave wondering around the town, trying to plan what they could do together. Maybe if John actually left the house often, he would have an idea of where he could take his crush. Dave returned just a few moments after John came back home. The slave perked up and walked to the door with his hands placed proudly on his hips. Whether Dave ended up liking his hair or not, he didn't regret going out today. He felt much cleaner and just better overall, more human somehow. 

"What do you think?" he asked with a grin. Dave stopped in his tracks and looked John up and down. 

"Wow.. You cut your hair?" he observed. 

"No, I got a tan. Are you blind or something?" Dave snickered and set his book-bag on the ground. "So, do you like it?"

"Yeah, it looks sharp. I liked the rockstar look, but this is cool too." John smiled widely. 

"Thanks." Dave's long, thin fingers combed through his own blond hair as he walked back to the kitchen. "I want to have our date today."

"You got something planned?" John chuckled. No, he had nothing planned. 

"Only the best date ever," he replied, allowing his chuckle to slip onto his words. 

"Nice. Should we eat first, or is that part of the extravaganza?" 

"Uh, are you hungry?" John still had plenty of money left to take them to a decent restaurant. 

"Kinda." Dave opened the freezer and pulled out a half-eaten chocolate bar. John held out his hand.

"Dude. Share." The taller man snickered and broke the bar in half. He handed the slightly bigger piece to John. "You're the best."

"Don't you forget it." He chomped on the hard chocolate and rested his back against the refrigerator. John moved next to him. He could hear Dave breathing softly at this proximity. His mind wondered back to the way his breath felt against his lips. Would Dave let him kiss him tonight? He really didn't want to screw this up. "Where are we going?" 

"That's a surprise." Dave smirked and shook his head.

"Whatever you say." They ate their chocolate quietly, lost in their own thoughts, for a short while. 

"You ready to get this date started?" Dave snickered and nodded. They exited the house and began to walk down the sidewalk. John looked at the different shops and restaurants, trying to pick one to enter. There were an awful lot of churches and gun stores around. This was Texas after all. 

"You ever been to a place like that?" John followed Dave's view to see a brightly colored ice cream shop.

"Trust me. I have been to a lot of ice cream shops," he replied. Dave shook his head. 

"No, it's not any ice cream place. They put ice cream in donuts and put cereal on top. It's the damn most American thing I ever heard of." John snickered. 

"That is the strongest I've ever heard your accent get." Dave elbowed his side. 

"You've got a bit of an accent there yourself too." The shorter male stopped walking.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been living here for a long time. You don't sound exactly Western." It made sense that his accent would change to his surroundings, but he couldn't hear it in his own voice. 

"Really?"

"Yeah.. You okay?" John swallowed spit and nodded. He felt a little dizzy. He never thought he would adjust to this place in any way, but now he was on a date with Dave and speaking with a Southern accent. 

"Yeah, just..thinking. Life is really, really weird. You can change so much so fast, and you don't even notice it. It's weird." Dave was staring at him. "Uh, how about we go in? I feel like getting cavities and a stomach ache. It's the old 'merican way." He added an accent to the end of his words on purpose. Dave smiled softly. 

"Sounds good." John ordered and paid for both of them to have a large, calorie-filled snack. They sat in the back corner of the colorful restaurant, away from the loud children in the front and ate their treats. They spoke casually about their own ice cream and how genius the whole shop was until John decided the scenery was growing dry, and they should go somewhere else. He tossed the rest of his calorie-carb-cancer delight away and headed out the door. 

He still found the idea of doing something with Dave appealing, but he wasn't sure what. Maybe they could just get each other off? That sounded better. He imagined Dave taking over in his fantasy, touching himself and then removing John's clothes. 

"Where to next, date master? Or was that all you had planned?" John elbowed Dave's side playfully. 

"I have way more planned." He laughed at the end of his sentence, hoping to secretly indicate that he had nothing planned. The two wondered around the town with no direction in mind. They spoke of mundane things that were oddly interesting; the types of cars they saw on the streets, the way the sky seemed to be tangible, and their favorite foods. Surprisingly, speaking of food was a topic that left John and Dave rambling on for hours. Small, playful arguments about the best pizza place and long, heart-felt vents about why pineapple does not go on pizza left them laughing and thinking only light thoughts. They eventually found themselves in a library looking at books they knew they would never read. 

John walked through several isles of books until he was away from most of the readers as to not disturb them. Dave followed along closely behind him and leaned against the shelves. John hummed as he looked over the different book titles with vague interest. The taller one sighed and shook his head towards John. This just gave him a coy smile from John and a slow nod. 

"Dude, what the fuck are we doing in a library?"

"We are checking out the hot librarians obviously," John joked and rolled his eyes. He placed a hand on his hip and leaned against the shelves in a confident pose. "Do you work here, hot stuff?" A soft, almost shy laugh fell out of Dave. "You're cute."

"You're not gonna get a discount on books by talking to me like this." Dave moved off of the shelf and walked closer to John.

"Are you sure? Maybe I can persuade you with my sexy body." John couldn't help his intense sexual desires. He wanted Dave. Being so close to someone so attractive constantly was torture, and his hormones that were begging him to take action, to grab Dave now and make him his own. His thoughts quickly took a dip, and all he could think about was digging his fingers into the fabric of Dave's shirt and pushing him, gently, to the floor. He wanted to rip open his fly and press their lips together over and over again. He wanted to taste Dave's lips while they were clean of snot and tears and only hungry with desire, just like his own. 

He would whisper his desires into Dave's ear as his fingers rummaged through his fly and found his warm length. He would hear Dave's voice soft and shy and low shiver out as he moved his hand up and down, and then he would tell him to keep quiet and not let anyone know they were there. Dave would probably reply with something clever, but John would cut him off with his lips and his hands turning Dave's stupid yet adorable words to mush. Once Dave was hard enough and ready for him, John would remove his pants completely, leaving him nude on the uncomfortable, library carpet and spread his legs apart. Dave would get nervous then. Sure, the library was mostly empty and was far too out of date to have security cameras in this section, but they were in public. John would tell Dave how beautiful he is and how well he's doing and that everything is going to be alright.

Then, he would kiss him more, until Dave couldn't complain or get nervous because he needed this so much that he wouldn't be able to stop. And then John would... He would... Wait, what then? John blinked and glanced over to Dave before looking back at the books. How did gay sex even work? Dave had...a penis, just like him. The thought was a little weird. John had never found penises all too attractive, but then again, vaginas weren't the best sight to him either. He had never thought about Dave's actual sexual organs before. Was he even circumcised? Did that matter? How were they supposed to have sex if John couldn't insert himself into Dave? Two more seconds of thinking caused John's cheeks to turn pink.

Anal sex. He briefly thought back to his conversation with Jake. He had been told that Dave wanted to 'fuck' John in his 'ass'. That sounded extremely painful and unpleasant. Sure, he had heard of gay men and women enjoying receiving anal sex before, but John had never thought of himself like them before. He was a man, and although he didn't think of himself as the most masculine person on the planet, he didn't think of himself as feminine. He certainly did not want Dave putting anything-especially his penis-into his bottom. That sounded horrible, and he wasn't sure if he ever wanted to try that. Discomfort filled John's being as he thought over this. Maybe Dave would let him do the inserting, but he wasn't sure if he wanted that either. He didn't want to hurt Dave, and he didn't think putting himself in the wrong hole would feel right.

"Check out this novelty." John pushed these thoughts to the back of his head. Maybe if he flirted hard enough tonight, and if this date continued to go well, they would have sex soon. 

"What?" John asked, looking down at the small book Dave had pulled off one of the shelves. 

"Wacky Words from Across the United States. I say we give this baby a spin," Dave answered, holding up the book as if it were a prize. John scoffed.

"Are you serious? That looks dumb."

"Exactly. It's called irony, in case you forgot."

"How could I forget?" John crossed his arms over his chest and looked over Dave's shoulder as the taller man thumbed through the pages and scanned over the different silly words he encountered.

"Wiki wiki, check out this shit," he said with a laugh. John nearly snorted at the funny sounding words Dave had said so casually. 

"Wiki wiki?" he asked. 

"It means hurry in... Hawaii I think." 

"Who would seriously talk like that?" He looked closely at the different words and phrases with interest. "Ferhoodled means confused."

"That's one ferhoodling word." John burst out into a frenzy of giggles and breathy laughs. He had no idea how Dave was keeping a straight face through this, but it just made it funnier. "What are you laughing about? C'mon, man, chew it finer." 

"I can chew fine."

"Not fine enough according to.." Dave turned the page and moved the book closer up to his face. John leaned on his shoulder to look at the book. "Cowboys."

"You know, I bet you wouldn't have to hold the book up so close to your face if you just took off your sunglasses." John was still holding back laughter as he spoke, but Dave didn't look so light-hearted and grew a little more serious as he spoke next.

"You know why I wear them."

"You sacrifice your vision to be cool and ironic. That's definitely the best way to go."

"You hit a fucking bull's eye right there, but.. There's no way you haven't noticed. We share a bed." John frowned a little and lightly touched Dave's forearm. 

"Are you talking about your eye color?" Dave was constantly speaking. He spewed out ridiculous rambles about the smallest things in his life and continued to do so even John stopped responding completely. However, he had never so much as mentioned his unique eye color. Dave didn't respond to John's question. "I like your eyes. They're really bright and look good on you. Maybe that's weird to say, but you're really handsome. And you're eyes are incredible." The other looked down at John with a soft expression. For a moment, John really thought he was about to say something meaningful, but then he heard the footsteps of a librarian behind them. 

"Let's get out of here wiki wiki." A warm hand was placed on John's waist as he was ushered away from the bookshelves. Dave led them to a cafe right next to the library where they read over the book and laughed at the silly words for nearly an hour. Eventually, the two grew hungry, and unfortunately, the cafe didn't have any real food. John tossed the book on a cart and took Dave's hand as he lead them out of the library and to a nearby fast food restaurant. The sky was much dimmer now, but it wasn't dark yet. John bought them both burgers, fries, and a large drink for the two of them to share with his remaining money. He carried their food back outside and wondered around in search of a nice place to eat. Dave grew impatient soon enough and began to eat his burger as John led him around the town. 

"I am going to find us a place with great scenery. You just wait. You're gonna appreciate this."

"For sure. I'd kill for some nice aesthetics." Dave finished his burger before John managed to find a spot, so he just gave up and sat down on a bench near a tree in the park.

It wasn’t nearly as scenic as he had hoped, but it worked. He huffed softly and took a bite of his sandwich. 

“I didn’t plan anything out for this date,” John admitted.

“Yeah, I kinda noticed that.” He laughed out of his nose and continued to eat. 

“Hey, Dave?” He had his attention. “What did you want to do..before all of this?” He thought for a moment about how there was no ‘all of this’ for Dave. Dave wasn’t a slave. He just had one. He still had all the freedoms of a regular, full-fledged citizen. He was going to college and work with fitting shoes on and a future wide open and bright ahead of him. The thought actually made John a little jealous. 

“I just... wanted to make music,” Dave answered with a soft sincerity glistening over his words.

“Like..you wanted to be in a band?” John wondered what Dave would look like as a rockstar with greasy hair and sparkly, tight-fitting clothes, desperately grasping onto a microphone while he sweats over the stage. He smirked a little. Rockstar Dave would definitely be sexy.

“No, nothing like that. That’s the thing. I didn’t want to be anything. I never wanted to be become anything. I’ve never been the type of person that looks really far into the future. I didn’t spend much time fantasizing about Mrs. Right and our adorable brats that tear down the house every time we leave them alone for two seconds. I mean, God, just get along, guys. Can’t you see how hard we’re trying here?” There was slight pain that hung onto the end of Dave’s ramble that John caught onto. “What did you want to be?”

“Honestly…I never planned it out that far. I was just so focused on getting out of the house and taking my life somewhere. I needed to go to college, and then I thought, once I got there, everything would just work out. I thought that later on I’d even help my dad with his addiction.”

“What?” Dave asked in a sharp tone. “Why would you wanna help him? He sold you.” John shook his head.

“He’s my dad-“

“That doesn’t mean anything. Just because you’re related to someone, that doesn’t mean you owe them anything.”

“You don’t understand. He was a good man. He was great when I was a kid. He always encouraged me to do my best and told me he was proud of me. I had a great childhood thanks to him. It was just the drugs. They changed him. I wish I could have helped him… He passed away.” Dave was quiet for a moment after that.

“I’m not gonna try to get you to hate your dad, but... you can’t blame everything on drugs. Yeah, they’re bad. Yeah, they change a person, but what he did… You can’t justify that.” John leaned on Dave’s shoulder.

“Maybe you’re right. This is all just really…tough.”

“No kidding.” They were quiet for a few minutes while John finished his sandwich, just listening to the crickets and the buzz of moths hitting the street lights. John stood up and balled up his wrapper before tossing it into the empty bag. He stretched out his arms and gazed at the stars one more time. 

“We should get going. I don’t want the gallinippers to bite me,” he said with a large smile. He felt a ton better now that he had actually spoken about his father, and overall, it had been a pretty good day, one of the best recently. “Did you have fun on our date?” 

“Yeah,” Dave answered quietly. “It was a lot of fun.” He remained seated and stared at the ground. 

“Yeah, it was. We should do stuff like this more often.” John placed a hand on his chest and held his free hand out to Dave dramatically. “If you’ll have me, I mean. A prince like you only deserves the best.” He held the pose until it became obvious that Dave was not going to take his hand or even respond. He straightened his back awkwardly and cleared his throat. “Are you o-“

“John.” Dave looked up at him abruptly with his head still lowered, allowing the man to see his bright, red eyes shining an orange hue in the streetlights. “Let’s move to Canada.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said that I would never abandon this work, and I will keep this promise even if it takes years.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this! I know I'm slow with updates, but I post JohnDave everyday on my Instagram, Pepsicolaismyotp if you need a pepsicola fill. Check it out if you'd like.


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